Overview of Reliability and Validity of Assessments in Medical Education

Abstract

Reliability and validity of exam questions are crucial in the assessment of medical education. Validity refers to the meaning if the exam questions effectively measure as its purpose to measure, while reliability refers the consistency of a measurement or test. Various methods could be applied to measure the validity and reliability of examination questions. In this review, content validity, face validity, concurrent validity, construct validity, predictive validity are briefly mentioned for further application. Moreover, test-retest reliability, inter-rater reliability, alternate form reliability, split-half reliability are presented. Regular assessment on validity, reliability, and refinement of assessments based on feedback could reduce bias and improve quality of assessments in medical education.