Which type of validity is based on appearance and can be misleading?

Which type of validity is based on appearance and can be misleading?

• A. Content validity
• B. Criterion validity
• C. Face validity
• D. Construct validity

Answer: (C)

Face validity is about how the test looks and whether it appears to measure what it’s supposed to measure. It relies on appearance and intuition rather than evidence, so it can be misleading—something might seem to fit a reading skill on the surface but actually miss important aspects of what the construct entails. Other types of validity require actual data: content validity checks whether items cover the full domain of the skill; criterion validity looks at how well the test predicts or correlates with external outcomes; and construct validity shows that the test truly measures the theoretical idea behind the skill, supported by evidence across different approaches.

Face validity is about how the test looks and whether it appears to measure what it’s supposed to measure. It relies on appearance and intuition rather than evidence, so it can be misleading—something might seem to fit a reading skill on the surface but actually miss important aspects of what the construct entails. Other types of validity require actual data: content validity checks whether items cover the full domain of the skill; criterion validity looks at how well the test predicts or correlates with external outcomes; and construct validity shows that the test truly measures the theoretical idea behind the skill, supported by evidence across different approaches.