Deciding to Validate Assessment Tools

© 2002, Barry Sweeny

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STEP # 14E.

Selecting an assessment tool means that you first look for a pre existing instrument that others have created, or that you have used before for other reasons, and decide if it can be effectively used in the evaluation you are currently planning.

Creating an assessment tool means that you are probably unable to locate a pre existing tool that is appropriate to you current needs and purpose, so you must design one specifically for this new situation. This could also mean that you have found a tool but will need to adapt it to make it fit your current needs.

Once you have selected or created an assessment tool (or instrument) you need to evaluate the extent to which it will provide you with VALID data for your current use of the tool. "Validity" is the extent to which the tool assesses what it is intended to assess. In it's simplest form, think of a test question in school for a course in US History, which is intended to assess what the US History teacher taught about President John F. Kennedy.

Say the test question asks, "Who was the 38th president? (pick one) A. Nixon, B. JFK, C. Eisenhower, D. Johnson"

Since this question and it's possible responses are intended to assess what the US History teacher taught about President John F. Kennedy, they have at least THREE areas in which their VALIDITY must be checked:

• Was John F. Kennedy really the 38th president?
• Were the initials JFK taught to students as the initials of John F. Kennedy?
• Is it likely that all students will understand the term "president" (small p) to refer to the President of the USA, and not some other person who is also a president, even the 38th? For example, a student refugee from South America, might be able to answer some one other than what the history teacher is expecting, and be correct.

Such steps may seem a bit excessive or even compulsively detail-oriented. The point here is, why go toi the work of designing any item or indicator, when you are going to get data which may not be credible, or could even steer you wrong in reaching conclusions from the invalid data?

Each of your indicators which have not been previously used and checked for validity, need to be checked, such as by a content expert who can find such problems and suggest ways to correct them.

RETURN TO STEP #14F ON THE PROGRAM PLANNER

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