If these correlations are found, and these real-life outcomes are variables that fit within the definition of the construct being measured, that means the test is valid.įor instance, we would expect people who score high on IQ tests to exhibit results in a life that “intelligent” people are supposed to have.

If the results of both tests have a significant correlation, then it means the newly created test is also valid.Īnother way to infer the validity of a test is to find correlations between the results of the test and real-life outcomes. For instance, it is possible to have test-takers take one test and then another one (aimed at measuring the same thing) that is already known to be valid.

There are several ways to infer a test’s validity. In psychometry, validity refers to the extent to which a test or a tool measures what it is supposed to measure, or in this case, the extent to which it measures intelligence. That takes us to the next important psychometric property all tests (and especially IQ tests) must have validity.

We would know that the thermometer is broken.Īnother thing people usually have in mind when they ask if IQ tests are reliable is whether these scores actually have something to do with intelligence, or whether they have something to do with life outcomes at all.Īs we have discussed in other sections, IQ or general intelligence is a psychometric construct that has been proven to be reliable and valid, and it has shown to correlate with life outcomes that are of major importance for the individual, such as academic performance or professional and financial success, among others. If a thermometer indicated different amounts of kelvins each time it measured the temperature of something (assuming that the temperature of the object was not varying at all), then we would know that there is something wrong with it. In psychometrics, an IQ test’s reliability represents the consistency of a test to what extent a test is able to produce similar scores after each administration. Well, they are, and whether they are or not is something that can be studied and quantified psychometrically. All the most widely used IQ tests have a high proven degree of reliability and validity.īy “reliable” what the general public means is if the intelligence measurements produced by IQ tests are real or not. Indeed, reliability is a psychometric concept and can be calculated and quantified.

Iq test reliability and validity