What is Content Validity?

One way to validate a pre-employment test is to measure its content validity, which reflects how well a test is measuring a quality or skill that is related to a certain job. 

In other words, content validity confirms that the test’s content effectively and comprehensively measures the abilities required to successfully perform the job.

How is content validity determined? 

Content validity is established through the use of recognized subject matter experts, whose job is to evaluate how well test items assess what they are made to measure. 

It’s a process that is both systematic and more subjective because it requires human input to calculate. To reduce this subjectivity, multiple subject matter experts should weigh in how well a test item measures its target. Ascertaining a test’s content validity is necessary for ensuring that the test is job-related and consistent with business necessity.

Why is content validity important for pre-employment tests?  

Content validity is important to establish because it ensures that the test items are all appropriately selected and able to measure the skill or quality that the assessment is targeting. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) prohibits employers from administering pre-employment assessments that are not related to the job they are hiring for, and content validity is one way to validate a test’s proper use within the hiring process.