What does content validity indicate about a test?

Content validity indicates how representative a test is of every part or detail of a construct. This means that for a test to be considered valid in terms of content, it must cover the entirety of the subject or skill being measured. A strong content validity ensures that all relevant domains of the construct are included in the assessment, reflecting a comprehensive understanding of the topic at hand.

For example, in the context of an educational assessment, if the test aims to measure students' math abilities, it should encompass various mathematical concepts rather than focusing only on a narrow area. This ensures that the test results provide a complete picture of the students' abilities in that subject.

The other options relate to different aspects of test evaluation. While one speaks to predictive validity, which assesses future performance, another focuses on test reliability, which pertains to consistency in the test's results upon repeated administrations. The last option addresses ecological validity, evaluating how well the test outcomes apply to real-world scenarios, but none of these capture the essence of content validity as thoroughly as recognizing its comprehensive representation of the construct being assessed.