Construct Validity: A Universal Validity System or Just Another Test Evaluation Procedure?

Lissitz and Samuelsen (2007) have proposed a framework that seemingly deems construct validity evidence irrelevant to supporting educational test meaning. The author of this article agrees with Lissitz and Samuelsen that internal evidence establishes test meaning, but she argues that construct validity need not be removed from the validity sphere. In fact, she argues that doing so could have an adverse impact on the quality of educational tests. She proposes a universal system for construct validity to illustrate how diverse evidence is relevant to claims about measuring examinees’ knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies even when test specifications provide a major source of evidence.