Gathering Content-Related Validity Evidence for the School Leaders Licensure Assessment

Abstract

A licensure assessment's purpose is to measure the relevant knowledge and skills required for safe and effective professional practice. Given the important role of licensure assessments, great care must be paid to the issue of validity: Is the assessment measuring what it claims to measure? In particular, evidence of a licensure assessment's content-related validity must be collected and evaluated prior to incorporating the assessment into a licensure process. The School Leaders Licensure Assessment was developed to be part of state licensure processes for entry-level school principals. To evaluate the use of the assessment for this purpose, a multistate panel of professionals examined the assessment and rendered judgments concerning its appropriateness. The results of this content-related validity study support the use of the School Leaders Licensure Assessment by affirming the relevance and importance of the content being assessed.