What is being established if items in the test are consistently answered by the students?

C. Reliability and Validity

In order for assessments to be sound, they must be free of bias and distortion. Reliability and validity are two concepts that are important for defining and measuring bias and distortion.

Reliability refers to the extent to which assessments are consistent. Just as we enjoy having reliable cars (cars that start every time we need them), we strive to have reliable, consistent instruments to measure student achievement. Another way to think of reliability is to imagine a kitchen scale. If you weigh five pounds of potatoes in the morning, and the scale is reliable, the same scale should register five pounds for the potatoes an hour later (unless, of course, you peeled and cooked them). Likewise, instruments such as classroom tests and national standardized exams should be reliable – it should not make any difference whether a student takes the assessment in the morning or afternoon; one day or the next.

Another measure of reliability is the internal consistency of the items. For example, if you create a quiz to measure students’ ability to solve quadratic equations, you should be able to assume that if a student gets an item correct, he or she will also get other, similar items correct.  The following table outlines three common reliability measures.

The values for reliability coefficients range from 0 to 1.0. A coefficient of 0 means no reliability and 1.0 means perfect reliability. Since all tests have some error, reliability coefficients never reach 1.0. Generally, if the reliability of a standardized test is above .80, it is said to have very good reliability; if it is below .50, it would not be considered a very reliable test.

 
Validity refers to the accuracy of an assessment -- whether or not it measures what it is supposed to measure. Even if a test is reliable, it may not provide a valid measure.  Let’s imagine a bathroom scale that consistently tells you that you weigh 130 pounds. The reliability (consistency) of this scale is very good, but it is not accurate (valid) because you actually weigh 145 pounds (perhaps you re-set the scale in a weak moment)! Since teachers, parents, and school districts make decisions about students based on assessments (such as grades, promotions, and graduation), the validity inferred from the assessments is essential -- even more crucial than the reliability. Also, if a test is valid, it is almost always reliable.

There are three ways in which validity can be measured. In order to have confidence that a test is valid (and therefore the inferences we make based on the test scores are valid), all three kinds of validity evidence should be considered.

So, does all this talk about validity and reliability mean you need to conduct statistical analyses on your classroom quizzes? No, it doesn't. (Although you may, on occasion, want to ask one of your peers to verify  the content validity of your major assessments.) However, you should be aware of the basic tenets of validity and reliability as you construct your classroom assessments, and you should be able to help parents interpret scores for the standardized exams.