The Consequences of Consequential Validity

moving considerations of consequences from the domain of validity, however, would relegate them to lower priority. Validity is, after all, as stated in the 1985 Standards, the most important consideration in test evaluation. Consequences of the uses and interpretations of test scores are central to an evaluation of those uses and interpretations. The evaluation of consequences rightly belongs in the domain of validity. The Standards is intended to serve as “a technical guide that can be used as the basis for evaluating testing practices” (AERA, APA, & NCME, 1985, p. 2). An evaluation that ignores the consequences of those practices would surely be inadequate. The best way of encouraging adequate consideration of major intended positive effects and plausible unintended negative effects of test use is to recognize the evaluation of such effects as a central aspect of test validation.