Current concepts of validity and its use in medical education

Abstract

In order to articulate appropriate inferences based on the scores obtained from learning assessments in the health sciences, the collection of validity evidence to support decisions made on the basis of these assessments is of central importance. The concept of validity is key in educational assessment, since it is used in all kinds of learning evaluation strategies: summative, diagnostic, and formative. In the last decades, new frameworks which modify and enhance the traditional concept of validity have emerged. In this paper, we explore the perspectives of Messick and Kane. Regarding the first one, we describe the sources of validity evidence and how to obtain them; and in regard to Kane’s arguments, we explain the steps needed to state an argument of use that justifies the interpretations of the scores obtained from the assessments. This overview describes the current perspective to approach validity in educative assessment, useful for health sciences educators.