Validity evidence based on test content is of essential importance in educational testing. One source for such evidence is an alignment study, which helps evaluate the congruence between tested objectives and those specified in the curriculum. However, the results of an alignment study do not always sufficiently capture the degree to which a test…

When using IRT models in Educational Achievement Testing, the model is as a rule too simple to catch all the relevant dimensions in the test. It is argued that a simple model may nevertheless be useful but that it can be complemented with additional analyses. Such an analysis, called profile analysis, is proposed and applied to the reading data of…

After a test is developed, most content validation analyses shift from ascertaining domain definition to studying domain representation and relevance because the domain is assumed to be set once a test exists. We present an approach that allows for the examination of alternative domain structures based on extant test items. In our example based on…

Describes content-validity theory and illustrates new and traditional approaches for conducting content-validity studies. Newer approaches are based on multidimensional scaling analysis of item-similarity ratings, while traditional approaches are based on ratings of item-objective congruence and relevance. (Author/SLD)

The problem of dimensionality with respect to Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM) specifically and, more generally, "g" or fluid intelligence, has been a long-standing issue. The present article reports two studies examining the dimensionality of both the original Set II of the APM (n = 506) and a short form (n = 644), using principal…