Which best describes content validity?

• A. The test questions are aligned with actual job tasks.
• B. The test scores correlate with overall company performance.
• C. The content is a representative sample of the tasks required on the job.
• D. The test can be completed quickly by most candidates.

Answer: (C)

Content validity is about how well the test content represents the actual work domain it’s meant to measure. It asks whether the items collectively cover the essential tasks, knowledge, and skills that define the job. To establish this, experts review the test and map each question to real job tasks through a job analysis, ensuring that the content forms a representative sample of what employees need to do on the job. That’s exactly what the best choice captures: the content mirrors the tasks required on the job.

Saying the test questions are aligned with actual job tasks is related, but it’s narrower—alignment can occur without guaranteeing complete coverage of the entire domain. Validity on the other hand isn’t about predicting performance against another criterion, which is a different type of validity, nor about how quickly the test can be completed, which is about practicality rather than validity.