When people talk about psychological, behavioral, or cognitive tests, they often ask whether the test is valid, and how this is proven. What exactly does this mean? What does it mean for a test to be valid?
The simple answer is that validity is the extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure. Any test’s validity is vital for the results to be accurately applied and interpreted.
A test’s validity isn’t determined by a single statistic, but by a body of research that demonstrates the relationship between the test and the behavior it is intended to measure.
How does this all relate to hiring? In recent years, talent assessment solutions have grown increasingly popular for more effective candidate screening.
When hiring based on talent assessment solutions, such as a behavioral assessment, you probably want to know exactly where the data to support the claim of “more effective screening” is coming from, right?
Keep reading to explore three unique approaches to generating evidence of validity. Because claiming something is valid and proving something is valid are two entirely different things.
Content Validity
Content validity is the extent to which a tool or measure assesses all critical facets of a job (tasks, duties, required knowledge, skills, and abilities) – not just some.
For example, a pilot’s test should measure a person’s ability to takeoff, fly, and land an airplane (all necessary to be a successful pilot), not just whether the person can fly an airplane.
Face Validity
Face validity is often considered a subcategory of content validity. Face validity is the extent to which a test looks like it is measuring what it purports to measure.
While high face validity may seem advantageous from a user acceptance perspective, lower face validity offers greater accuracy in predicting work behaviors due to the tester or candidate’s inability to manipulate results (e.g., answering questions in a way they think would be more favorable).
Criterion-Related Validity
A test is said to have criterion-related validity when it has demonstrated its effectiveness in predicting a criterion such as success in a role measured by quota attainment.
There are two different types of Criterion-Related Validity.
Criterion-Related Validity: Concurrent
This type of validity status occurs when the criterion measures are obtained at the same time as the test scores, indicating the extent to which the test scores accurately estimate an individual’s current state concerning the criterion.
An example of this might be, on a test that measures levels of depression, the test would be said to have concurrent validity if it measured the current levels of depression experienced by the test taker.
Criterion-Related Validity: Predictive
This type of Criterion-Related Validity occurs when the criterion measures are obtained at a time after the test. Examples of tests with predictive validity are career or aptitude tests, which help determine who is likely to succeed or fail in certain subjects or occupations.
Enter, Spark Hire’s Predictive Talent Assessment, which is backed by 40+ years of industrial-organizational psychologist research and built for speed to help organizations better identify candidates who will thrive in their roles.
Construct Validity
When an assessment demonstrates an association between the test scores and the prediction of a theoretical trait, it has construct validity.
For example, if a test is suggested to be an intelligence test but it is a simple vocabulary test, is the assessment measuring a person’s mental capacity or is it simply measuring a person’s exposure to the words on the test?
Proven Validity with Spark Hire’s Science-Backed Assessment
As noted, Spark Hire’s Predictive Talent Assessment was designed to take the criterion-related approach to predict job success.
Focusing on the competencies, behaviors, and temperaments that predict actual job behavior, our Predictive Talent Assessment consistently has greater predictive power than existing “off-the-shelf” published personality measures.
Learn more about how our behavioral assessment was developed and the challenges it was built to help organizations like yours overcome!
Interested in Learning More About the Impact of a Behavioral Assessment?
Contact Spark Hire today to learn more!
