What is content validity concerned with?

Content validity refers to the extent to which a test measures the content it is intended to assess. In this context, it is about ensuring that the test reflects actual job tasks and responsibilities that employees are expected to perform. When a test has strong content validity, it aligns closely with work samples or tasks that are part of the job, ensuring that the assessment is relevant and representative of what a candidate would realistically encounter in their role.

By focusing on the direct relationship between test items and job performance requirements, one can confirm that the measures taken are not just theoretically sound but are practically applicable in a professional context. This is crucial in job settings such as firefighting, where specific competencies must be validated through relevant assessments.

Factors such as accuracy of test scores, prediction of future behavior, and correlation with established tests are important considerations in different contexts of test validity but do not specifically address the primary concern of content validity, which is about job relevance and the accurate depiction of work tasks. Thus, the focus of content validity is on the connection between test content and the actual work being performed.