Validity

Validity refers to the extent to which evaluation findings are correct.

In the Evaluation Standards produced by the Joint Committee on Educational Evaluation, standards relating to this were labelled as Accuracy Standards:

"Accuracy Standards

The accuracy standards are intended to increase the dependability and truthfulness of evaluation representations, propositions, and findings, especially those that support interpretations and judgments about quality.

• A1 Justified Conclusions and Decisions Evaluation conclusions and decisions should be explicitly justified in the cultures and contexts where they have consequences.
• A2 Valid Information Evaluation information should serve the intended purposes and support valid interpretations.
• A3 Reliable Information Evaluation procedures should yield sufficiently dependable and consistent information for the intended uses.
• A4 Explicit Program and Context Descriptions Evaluations should document programs and their contexts with appropriate detail and scope for the evaluation purposes.
• A5 Information Management Evaluations should employ systematic information collection, review, verification, and storage methods.
• A6 Sound Designs and Analyses Evaluations should employ technically adequate designs and analyses that are appropriate for the evaluation purposes.
• A7 Explicit Evaluation Reasoning Evaluation reasoning leading from information and analyses to findings, interpretations, conclusions, and judgments should be clearly and completely documented.
• A8 Communication and Reporting Evaluation communications should have adequate scope and guard against misconceptions, biases, distortions, and errors."