Certified Addiction Counselor (CAC) Practice

What term describes the accuracy of an assessment instrument in measuring what it claims to measure?

1. Reliability

2. Validity

3. Consistency

4. Credibility

The correct answer is: Validity

The term that describes the accuracy of an assessment instrument in measuring what it claims to measure is validity. Validity indicates whether the results of an assessment truly reflect the construct or variable that it is intended to measure. For instance, if a test is designed to assess the severity of addiction, its validity would indicate how well the test actually measures addiction severity rather than other unrelated factors. Reliability, on the other hand, refers to the consistency of an assessment instrument; it assesses whether the same results would be obtained under consistent conditions on different occasions or setups. Consistency relates closely to reliability but does not encompass the concept of accurately measuring the intended construct. Credibility refers more to the trustworthiness of the source or information rather than the accuracy of measurement. Thus, when discussing an assessment tool, validity is crucial because it determines the extent to which the conclusions drawn from the results are meaningful and applicable to the intended constructs of measurement.