In conclusion, there are four statements I would like to make about validity.
The first one is that validity is all about inferences. All validation is singly focused on providing evidence to support the interpretation or the inference. It is the purpose or intended inference that grounds our work. Whenever there is an issue with regard to validation of any NAEP assessment, the first questions should be: What is the purpose of this test? What is the intended inference one wants to make from scores on this test?
Second, validity is probably the most important thing we do in our field. Anybody can develop and distribute a test, but whether the scores on that test are meaningful and useful is the question to answer.
Third, validity is an ongoing process that requires gathering and synthesizing evidence. Evidence should continually be gathered to support or refute what is being claimed about the meaning of a test score.
Finally, like every field, validity has issues, and we have touched on several of these in this presentation.