Reading Report 3 Why should you be concerned about your tests' validity?
Khin Rupar Htut
202200145
Validity refers to how appropriately a test or assessment aligns with the intended purpose. “A test is valid
if it accurately measures what it aims to measure” (Cambridge University Press & Assessment, 2023). The
article mainly discusses the validity of language test and assessment, specifically, Cambridge Language
Assessment test. According to Cambridge University Press & Assessment (2023), language tests can help
students to determine their English proficiency by measuring various aspects of language use in real life. If
the test takers can be at a higher level and the valid test can define it, the life of test taker can be changed.
However, if the test was not valid and placed the test taker at the wrong level, that can also be life changing
problem for the test takers. That is one of the reasons why we should be concerned about the test validity.
“A valid test result gives the student greater confidence that they can cope with the demands of the course.
This means that students will have a better experience because they are better able to contribute equally in
class” (Cambridge University Press & Assessment, 2023).
Moreover, Saville (2016) stated that validity also needs to be considered with the fitness of purpose.
According to what I understand on that statement, if the test is valid, it also should be meaningful and
appropriate in terms of applying the test result in educational or social context. For example, in the
Cambridge English Test, we have 2 aspects starting from KET to FCE. KET for school aims to use the test
result in the school setting and it mainly assesses academic English skills while KET for general English
targets the test takers who wants to be assessed their general English language proficiency in their social
life. When we use KET for general English test as the placement test for assigning Grade, that test cannot
be valid since it cannot assess for the intended purpose. Therefore, the interpretation for the test validity
can be different based on the context we are using the test for. Saville (2016) also discussed the content
validity and construct validity by giving the judegement on the Cambrige English test. According to Saville
(2016), the Cambridge English Language test model is designed in to assessement on five constructive
areas (listening, speaking, reading, writing and English language knowledge) and the connected domains
in each level, based on expert literature review, are used to determine the content validity. By combining
the validity of construct and content, context validity also follow to make sure that the whole test is valid
for the specific test takers.
In conclusion, validity of the test assess the quality of test whether it can be used to assess for intended
purpose and the interpretation of test is valid or not can be varied based on the contexts. As the teachers we
must be responsible for preparing for the valid test because the validity of tests has a huge impact on our
students and their lives.
References
Cambridge University Press & Assessment. (2023, April 4). ICEF Academy. Retrieved from ICEF
monitor: https://monitor.icef.com/2023/04/what-is-test-validity-and-why-should-you-care-about-
it/
Saville, N. (2016, May). Principles of Good Practice. Retrieved from Cambridge English:
https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/22695-principles-of-good-practice.pdf
