EDUC 671 - DB4 - Validity and Reliability
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Liberty University *
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671
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Philosophy
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Feb 20, 2024
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When considering the definitions and implications of validity and reliability, I immediately think of credible and dependable. When looking at these terms through the lens of assessment validity and reliability, there is a thread of truth there, but perhaps it needs to be more
specific and detailed. Validity, according to Peeters, Beltyukova, and Martin (2013), refers to the “
degree to which a test accurately and meaningfully measures what it is supposed to measure.” In other words, how certain can teachers be that the students understood the material based on their performance on the assessment. Charles Darr (2005a) defines reliability as “the consistency of the results we obtain from an assessment.” Generally speaking, if the same students took the same test multiple times, without reviewing the material, high reliability assessments would produce similar scores. Assessment reliability and validity are critical to determining a student’s abilities and comprehension regarding a defined set of goals or objectives. Teachers need to determine if the assessment is serving its purpose, specifically looking at two questions offered in our reading (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012): #1 - Could a student do well on the assignment without understanding the content? and #2 - Could a student understand the content and still do poorly on
the assessment? If the answer to either of those is yes, then perhaps the purpose and value of the assessment need to be reviewed. While determining reliability and validity might be time-
consuming, I believe it is essential. The students do not benefit from assessments unless either they or the teacher can use the information gained from these tests to better instruct or review material. I think of 1 Thessalonians 5:21 “but
test everything; hold fast what is good…” (English Standard Bible, 2001). Teachers must constantly reassess what works and hold on to that, while doing away with the useless parts.
One way of utilizing assessment reliability and validity in the classroom might be to keep
the definitions of these terms in mind when we are designing our assessments. Teachers need to ask themselves the questions as they build the lesson. Designing assessments first, with the goals and objectives of the lesson in mind, would help the teacher better see the benefits of the assessment and predict the outcomes. Teachers should also take the tests provided with curriculum before they give it to their students. This would help ensure that the questions are aligned with the expected outcomes, as well as making sure the questions are not to difficult or simple for the students (Darr, 2005b) References:
Darr, C. (2005a). A hitchhiker’s guide to validity.
Set: Research Information for Teachers
, (2), 55–56. doi:10.18296/set.0639
Darr, C. (2005b). A hitchhiker’s guide to reliability.
Set: Research Information for Teachers
, (3),
59–60. doi:10.18296/set.0623
English Standard Version Bible
. (2001). ESV Online. https://esv.literalword.com/
Peeters, M. J., Beltyukova, S. A., & Martin, B. A. (2013). Educational testing and validity of conclusions in the scholarship of teaching and learning.
American journal of pharmaceutical education
,
77
(9), 186. https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe779186
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2012).
The Understanding by design guide to advanced concepts in
creating and reviewing units
. ASCD.
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