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College Exam

Name of Student

Name of the Department, University

Name of course

Name of Instructor

Due Date
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College Exam

     In psychology, a construct is a capability, trait, or disposition that is based on one or several

established theories (Fried & Flake, 2018). Any college exam can be categorized as a measure of

cognitive competence as a social construct. Although it cannot be observed explicitly, one's

mental capability is deduced from repetitive tests that are related to content such as

examinations. 

Face and content validity

     The face validity of a construct shows the superficial suitability of a construct in measuring

what it is supposed to (Middleton, 2019). For this reason, exams have face validity in measuring

mental competence because the people who score the highest soon become the most effective in

their fields. For example, when top executives in finance talk about their college transcripts, they

are likely to have high scores. In comparison, Middleton (2019) suggests that content validity

shows whether a test evaluates all dimensions of a construct. If some aspects are unmeasured,

then the content validity of a construct is low. A college exam does not measure other

competencies, such as collaboration, because of it an individual venture. 

Data that proves reliability and criterion validity

     While reliability describes how consistent a test is, the criterion determines its level of

predicting expected outcomes (Middleton, 2019). The results in mathematics will always be the

same if the formula is correct, proving a high level of reliability. Since the desired results in an

examination as done by a student should match what is done in an employability evaluation, it

has criterion or concrete validity (Bellamy, 2015). 

Conclusion
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 In conclusion, college exams seem to have high content, reliability, and criterion validity in

measuring cognitive construct. However, they are relatively content invalid.

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References

Bellamy, N. (2015). Principles of clinical outcome assessment. Rheumatology, 1, 9-19.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780323091381000024

Fried, E. I. & Flake, J. K. (2018). Measurement Matters. Association for Psychological Science,

https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/measurement-matters

Middleton, F. (2019). The four types of validity. Scribbr.

https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/types-of-validity/