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ERIC Number: EJ1104541
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 3
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0969-594X
EISSN: N/A
Comments on Implementing Validity Theory
Gafni, Naomi
Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, v23 n2 p284-286 2016
Naomi Gafni, director of Research and Development, National Institute for Testing and Evaluation, Jerusalem, Israel, has devoted a substantial part of her career to the development of admissions tests and other educational tests and to the investigation of their validity. As such she is keenly aware of the complexities involved in this process. Gafni comments on the disagreement among the contributors of this issue of "Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice" with regard to making a distinction between supporting interpretations based on test scores and justifying test use. While all of the authors contributing to this issue do agree that both issues are important and require examination, Gafni proposes another way to investigate validity could be to have some of the professionals who are involved in developing the test and investigating its validity play "devil's advocate" and critique it. It is the developers who are most familiar with the test, with its rationale and uses, and with relevant validation research and results. If they are able to present sound arguments that potentially invalidate the test, then changes to the test or the way it is used should be seriously considered. Gafni also argues that educational and psychological measurement professionals are well aware of the fact that--as stated in "The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing"--validity investigation is a never-ending process, and any validation investigation should look at a testing programme or at an admissions procedure as a whole, as well as at each of its components. It is worthwhile to remember that when high stakes are involved, mainly for individuals, decisions must not be made based on a single test score (no matter how "valid" it is).
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A