Publications & Resources

Multidimensional Validity Revisited: A Multidimensional Approach to Achievement Validation

Jul 2002

Richard J. Shavelson and Shun Lau

Richard E. Snow, working from his new aptitude theory, advocated a multidimensional approach to validating the construct of academic achievement. This report briefly describes Snow’s recommended approach and then summarizes new evidence from the present studies in terms of three related themes: (a) multidimensionality of science achievement, (b) transaction between achievement and situations, and (c) multidimensional approach to construct validity. Overall, our studies established the predictive validity of several key motivational constructs for science achievement, demonstrated how the relations between these constructs and achievement varied as a function of reasoning dimensions and assessment, and suggested how alternative assessment methods (constructed response and performance assessments) shed light on the notion of multidimensional validity.

Shavelson, R. J., & Lau, S. (2002). Multidimensional validity revisited: A multidimensional approach to achievement validation (CSE Report 574). Los Angeles: University of California, Los Angeles, National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST).