Assessment, Statistics, and Research

  Concurrent validity is a  method of test score validity based on the correlation of two sets of scores obtained at the same time. Example: A clinician creates a test of anger and hands the test to patients for completion. High scores represent high levels of anger. A different clinician rates the level of anger in the same patients based on interviews and rates the level on a scale of 1-10. Each patient has two sets of anger scores. A researcher can calculate the correlation between the test and the ratings. If the correlation is moderately high and not likely due to chance, then there is evidence for concurrent validity when using the new test under similar situations. Applied Statistics Concepts for Counselors on    AMAZON  or   GOOGLE Please check out my website     www.suttong.com    and see my books on    AMAZON        or   GOOGLE STORE Also, consider connectin...

  What makes a test valid? is a tricky question.  The short, and rather obnoxious response is, “nothing.”  Like reliability , validity is a property of test scores  rather than tests but more accurately, an interpretation of the scores. But it is important to take the question seriously when test-takers and users are wondering how much confidence to place in a test score. As with many aspects of science, the answers can be simply stated but there is a complicated backstory. Validity Traditions For many, the traditional views of test score validity will be sufficient. Tests measure constructs. Scientific constructs are ideas that have features that can be measured like reading comprehension, dominance, short-term memory, and verbal intelligence. Construct validity is not a single entity but rather the current state of knowledge about how a test instrument’s scores have functioned in many settings and in relation to crite...