Validity as a Test characteristic	Validity as an argument-based evidentiary-chain	Validity as a Social imperative
Definition	The degree to which the test actually measures what it purports to measure.	The evidences presented to support or refute the meaning or interpretation assigned to assessment results.	A bird’s eye view of assessment that foregrounds broader individual and societal issues
Characteristics	Validity is a goal or a gold seal of approval.	Validity is a journey on which one embarks to provide evidence supporting the interpretation of scores.	Validity and validation are matters of social accountability.
Validity is viewed as…	Static	Fluid	Built-in
Focus of evidence is on…	Individual tools can be considered valid, and the validity can generalize to the tool format (« MCQs are valid »)	Defensible interpretation of scores	Individual and societal impact of assessment
Things made possible	The quest for the holy grail of assessment; one tool that is more valid than the others.	Validation approaches and standards	Holistic and a priori consideration for societal impact of assessment
Validation occurs…	A posteriori (mainly)		A priori (mainly)
Validation data focused on…	Psychometric	Mostly psychometric	Mostly expert judgment