Understanding validity
Ofqual's Research Chair, Paul Newton, publishes a paper exploring validity in assessment and its role in Ofqual's work.
Ofqual has today (19 October 2017) published a research paper exploring validity in educational assessment and its relationship to Ofqual’s work. In the paper, Paul Newton, Research Chair at Ofqual, asks ‘What is validity?’ and ‘How is it possible to judge whether a qualification has sufficient validity?’. He explores what Ofqual means when it says that ‘it regulates so that qualifications are sufficiently valid and trusted’.
The paper is an introduction to the concept of validity in education assessment, and aims to help those who are new to the subject understand how validity can mean different things to different people, and yet still be critical to the success of any assessment.
In addition to the paper, Paul explores ‘What is validity?’ in a video for our YouTube channel, and appears in the first episode of our research podcast to talk about validity and the publication of today’s paper.