Chapter 4 Validity Robert J. Drummond and Karyn Dayle Jones Assessment Procedures for Counselors and Helping Professionals, 6 th edition Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved.
Validity The extent to which the test measures what it's supposed to measure Content Validity Face Validity Criterion-Related Validity Construct Validity Robert J. Drummond and Karyn Dayle Jones Assessment Procedures for Counselors and Helping Professionals, 6 th edition Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved.
Content Validity The items on a test are representative of some defined universe or content domain. Usually decided by expert judges who evaluate the test’s content to determine if there is a relationship between the test and the content domain. Robert J. Drummond and Karyn Dayle Jones Assessment Procedures for Counselors and Helping Professionals, 6 th edition Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved.
Face Validity Does the test appear superficially to measure what it's supposed to measure? Robert J. Drummond and Karyn Dayle Jones Assessment Procedures for Counselors and Helping Professionals, 6 th edition Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved.
Criterion-Related Validity Are test scores related to one or more external variables (criteria)? Two types: Concurrent validity: the test score and criterion information are obtained at the same time (e.g., Beck Depression Inventory score predicting a current diagnosis of depression) Predictive validity: the test is used to estimate criterion scores in the future (e.g., SAT predicting future college success) Robert J. Drummond and Karyn Dayle Jones Assessment Procedures for Counselors and Helping Professionals, 6 th edition Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved.
Validity coefficient: indicates the correlation between the test and its criterion score. A coefficient of 1.00 indicates a perfect positive correlation The higher the correlation, the better the validity 0 to +0.3 = little or no correlation +0.3 to +0.7 = moderate positive correlation +0.7 to +1.0 = strong positive correlation Robert J. Drummond and Karyn Dayle Jones Assessment Procedures for Counselors and Helping Professionals, 6 th edition Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved.
What do these correlations mean? Concurrent Validity: Correlation between the score on an exam and test anxiety is.73. Predictive Validity: Correlation between the GRE and success in an Educational Research master’s program is.90. Correlation between the GRE and success in Counselor Education is.65. Correlation between the GRE and success in a graduate degree in Drama is.35. Robert J. Drummond and Karyn Dayle Jones Assessment Procedures for Counselors and Helping Professionals, 6 th edition Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved.
Construct Validity What do test scores mean or signify? What does the score tell us about the individual? Does the test score correspond with some meaningful trait or construct that will help us understand the person? Robert J. Drummond and Karyn Dayle Jones Assessment Procedures for Counselors and Helping Professionals, 6 th edition Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved.
Construct: Defined Used to describe the grouping of variables or behaviors that make up observed behavior patterns (e.g., intelligence, anxiety, motivation, self-concept) The construct itself is not measurable; only the behaviors or variables that make up the construct can be measured Examples: What behaviors make up self-concept? What behaviors or variables make up depression? Robert J. Drummond and Karyn Dayle Jones Assessment Procedures for Counselors and Helping Professionals, 6 th edition Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved.
Methods Used in Gathering Construct-Related Evidence Correlations with other tests Convergent and discriminant validation Factor analysis Robert J. Drummond and Karyn Dayle Jones Assessment Procedures for Counselors and Helping Professionals, 6 th edition Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved.
Convergent and Discriminant Validity Convergent and discriminant validity are both considered subcategories or subtypes of construct validity. Convergent and discriminant validity are both considered subcategories or subtypes of construct validity. Convergent validity: correlates highly with other measures designed to assess the same construct. Discriminant validity: should not correlate with other constructs. The important thing to recognize is that they work together—if you can demonstrate that you have evidence for both convergent and discriminant validity, then you have, by definition, demonstrated that you have evidence for construct validity. The important thing to recognize is that they work together—if you can demonstrate that you have evidence for both convergent and discriminant validity, then you have, by definition, demonstrated that you have evidence for construct validity. Robert J. Drummond and Karyn Dayle Jones Assessment Procedures for Counselors and Helping Professionals, 6 th edition Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved.
Example of Convergent Validity r 1,1 = 1.00 r 1,2 =.83 r 1,3 =.89 r 1,4 =.91 Robert J. Drummond and Karyn Dayle Jones Assessment Procedures for Counselors and Helping Professionals, 6 th edition Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved.
Example of Discriminant Validity r 1,2 =.06 Robert J. Drummond and Karyn Dayle Jones Assessment Procedures for Counselors and Helping Professionals, 6 th edition Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved.