Counselor Education Comprehensive Exam (CECE) Practice Exam

What term refers to how accurately an instrument measures a given construct?

1. Reliability

2. Validity

3. Decision accuracy

4. Sensitivity

The correct answer is: Validity

The correct term that refers to how accurately an instrument measures a given construct is validity. Validity assesses whether a test or tool actually measures what it claims to measure, providing an indication of the accuracy of the results obtained from that instrument. For instance, if a psychological test is designed to assess depression, validity would evaluate how well the test accurately measures the construct of depression as opposed to other unrelated constructs. In the context of testing or measurement, different types of validity can be considered, such as content validity, criterion-related validity, and construct validity, each focusing on different aspects of how the instrument correlates with the desired outcomes. This makes validity a critical concept in research and practice, as it ensures that conclusions drawn from test results are meaningful and applicable in real-world situations. Other terms relate to different aspects of measurement. Reliability refers to the consistency of the instrument over time or across different observers. Decision accuracy generally pertains to the precision of a specific decision-making process or judgment rather than a measurement tool. Sensitivity focuses on an instrument's ability to correctly identify true positives, often in the context of diagnostic tests, but does not encompass the broader concept of measuring constructs accurately. Thus, validity is the most appropriate term when discussing how accurately an instrument measures a given