What term denotes the degree to which a measure actually measures what it intends to?

• A. ACCURACY
• B. VALIDITY
• C. VERIFICATION
• D. TREND

Answer: (B)

Validity is the degree to which a measurement actually measures what it intends to measure. It answers whether the data reflect the exact construct or behavior you’re aiming to assess, under the specified conditions and definitions. Think of it as whether the instrument is tapping the right thing, not something else.

Reliability is about consistency—getting similar results across repeated measurements—while validity focuses on the meaning of the scores relative to the intended target. A measure can be reliable but not valid if it consistently measures something different from what you want. Accuracy refers to closeness to a true value in some contexts, but it doesn’t by itself ensure the instrument targets the intended construct. Verification is about confirming correctness, and trend describes patterns over time, not the alignment of the measure with the intended construct.