What is validity?

The validity of the California family of testing instruments is derived from the cross disciplinary conceptual definition of critical thinking that emerged from the APA Delphi Research Study (1988-1990) and was replicated by Department of Education supported Penn State University Research study in the mid 1990’s. Scales on the CCTST and all of its related instruments (HSRT, BCTST, TER, M-25, MDCTI, LSRP) correspond to the Delphi’s main critical thinking skills. Items on the CCTST are drawn from a pool of items tested over the past 20 years. Items used on each form of these instruments have gone through the usual validation studies. Validation samples typically have samples composed of test taker groups inside and ourside the United States. Criterion validity for both the CCTST and the CCTDI, the highest form of validity for measurement instruments, has been demonstrated through independent research. Additional information about test validity is available in the User Manual for each test.