Kentucky Department of Education

This Technical Report provides extensive detail about the development and operation of the Kentucky Core Content Tests. The traditional concerns with a program are often labeled reliability and validity.The empirical reliability and validity of the assessments are reported explicitly in this document. While the reliability chapter (Chapter 14) is relatively straightforward, the validity chapter (Chapter 15) addresses the validity of the program as derived from the sum of its parts. That is, the steps in creating the program and putting it into operation are all aspects of validity. The validity of any assessment stems from the steps taken in planning it, the processes of developing the content of the tests, the processes of consulting with stakeholders, the processes of communicating about the test to users, the processes of scoring and reporting, and the processes of data analysis. Each is an inherent part of validity. The uses made of the test results as established by the Kentucky Board of Education are also aspects of validity. In short, while there is a specific chapter devoted to validity, including many references to validity types of studies, this document provides much, but not all of the evidence needed to assess the validity of the program.

2004 Technical Report