Validity evidence based on test content.

BACKGROUND Validity evidence based on test content is one of the five forms of validity evidence stipulated in the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing developed by the American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, and National Council on Measurement in Education. In this paper, we describe the logic and theory underlying such evidence and describe traditional and modern methods for gathering and analyzing content validity data. METHOD A comprehensive review of the literature and of the aforementioned Standards is presented. RESULTS For educational tests and other assessments targeting knowledge and skill possessed by examinees, validity evidence based on test content is necessary for building a validity argument to support the use of a test for a particular purpose. CONCLUSIONS By following the methods described in this article, practitioners have a wide arsenal of tools available for determining how well the content of an assessment is congruent with and appropriate for the specific testing purposes.