Which type of validity assesses whether an evaluation instrument measures the intended theoretical construct?

The type of validity that assesses whether an evaluation instrument measures the intended theoretical construct is construct validity. Construct validity is essential in ensuring that the tool or instrument accurately reflects the concept or phenomenon it aims to measure. It involves examining both the relationship between the measurement and the theoretical constructs as well as verifying that the instrument behaves as expected according to the theoretical framework.

For example, if a test is designed to measure 'intelligence,' construct validity would involve checking that the test correlates appropriately with other established measures of intelligence and that it aligns with theoretical predictions about how intelligence should be evaluated and understood.

In contrast, content validity focuses on whether the items in an assessment adequately represent the domain it aims to cover, criterion-related validity evaluates how well one measure predicts an outcome based on another measure, and face validity pertains to whether an assessment appears effective at face value. These other forms of validity do not specifically examine the alignment with theoretical constructs, which is the critical focus of construct validity.