When a test is to be constructed quickly or when there is an urgent need of a test and there is no time or scope to determine the validity by other efficient methods, face validity can be determined. Moreover, this method helps a test maker to revise the test items to suit to the purpose. Once the test is validated at face, we may proceed further to compute validity coefficient. When one goes through the items and feels that all the items appear to measure the skill in addition, then it can be said that the test is validated by face.Īlthough it is not an efficient method of assessing the validity of a test and as such it is not usually used still then it can be used as a first step in validating the test. The content of the test should not obviously appear to be inappropriate, irrelevant.įor example, a test to measure “Skill in addition” should contain only items on addition. Thus, face validity refers not to what the test measures, but what the test ‘appears to measure’. If a test measures what the test author desires to measure, we say that the test has face validity.

Face validity refers to whether a test appears to be valid or not i.e., from external appearance whether the items appear to measure the required aspect or not.