What is Reliability?

Synonyms for reliability are:

dependability, stability, consistency, predictability,
accuracy, Reliable people, for instance, are those whose
behavior is consistent, dependable, predictable–what
they will do tomorrow and next week will be consistent
with what they do today and what they have done last
week.
Reliability refers to the consistency of a measure. A test
is considered reliable if we get the same result
repeatedly.
If r, the coefficient of correlation, is squared, it becomes
a coefficient of determination, that is, it gives us the
proportion or percentage of the variance shared by two
variables. If r = 0.90, then the two variables share
(0.90)2 = 81% of the total variance of the two variables
in common. The reliability coefficient is also a coefficient
of determination.
Reliability Interpretation 1. Sensitivity. It is the ability of the instrument to
0.90 and above Excellent Reliability. At the level of the make the discriminations required for the
best standardized tests. problem. A single characteristic measured may
0.80 - 0.89 Very Good. This is ideal for a classroom test. yield variations within subjects, between
0.70 - 0.79 Good. This is good for a classroom test. subjects, and between groups.
There are probably a few items which could be 2. Objectivity. It is the degree to which the
improved. measure is independent of the personal
0.60 - 0.69 Somewhat Low. This test needs to be opinions, subjective judgment, biases, and
supplemented by other measures to determine grades. beliefs of the individual test user.
There are probably some items which could be a) The manner of scoring the test:
improved. b) The manner of interpreting individual test items
0.50 - 0.59 Needs Revision by the examinees who took the test:
0.49 and below Questionable Reliability 3. Usability. It is the degree to which the
measuring instrument can be satisfactorily used
by teachers, researchers, supervisors, etc
a) Administrability: A good test can be administered
with ease, clarity, and uniformity.
b) Scorability: A good test is easy to score. Test
results should be easily available to both the
students and the teacher
c) Interpretability: Test results can be useful only
when they are properly evaluated.
Proper Mechanical Make-Up: Tests should be
printed clearly in an appropriate size of paper.
4. Feasibility. It is concerned with the aspects of
skills, cost, and time.
a) Skills: There are certain tests which
require minimum skills in developing
them and which may also require
minimum training in administration,
scoring, analyzing and interpreting test
data.
b) Economy ❖ They should be economical
in expenses. One way to economize cost
for test is to use answer sheets and
reusable tests. However, test validity
and reliability should not be sacrificed.
❖ They should be economical in time.
5. Comprehensibility. It is not possible to include
all objectives of the course or all aspects of the
subject matter in a test.
6. Interesting. Tests that are interesting and
enjoyable help to gain the cooperation of the
subject.
TECHNIQUES IN ESTABLISHING VALIDITY obtained are available after a long period of
time
What is Validity? It is the degree to which a test The distinction between the two, are as follows:
measures what it is intended to measure (Manarang &  PROCEDURAL DIFFERENCE. Pertains to the time
Manarang, 1983). It is the usefulness of the test for a period when the criterion data are gathered.
given purpose or the degree to which a test is capable When they are collected at approximately the
of achieving certain aims (Oriondo & DalloAntonio, same time as the test data, we speak of
1989). It is the most important criterion of a good CONCURRENT VALIDITY. When They are
examination. A valid test is reliable. gathered at a later date, we have a measure of
PREDICTIVE VALIDITY
Validity is classified into three kinds (Oriondo & Dallo-  LOGICAL DIFFERENCE. Based on the purpose of
Antonio, 1989; French & Michael, 1966): testing. In PREDICTIVE VALIDITY we are actually
concerned with the usefulness of the test score
1. Content-Related Validity. It refers to the extent in predicting some future performance. In
to which the content of the test is truly a CONCURRENT VALIDITY we are asking whether
representative of the content of the course the test scores can be substituted for some less
(Calmorin, 1994). It is determined by thorough efficient way of gathering criterion data.
examination of the items (Oriondo & Dallo- 3. Construct-Related Validity. It is the extent to
Antonio, 1989), which the test measures a theoretical trait
 Content validity is described by the (Calmorin, 1994). If an instrument has construct
relevance of a test to different types of validity, people’s scores will vary as the theory
criteria, such as thorough judgments and underlying the construct would predict.
systematic examination.
 Content validity is commonly used in
evaluating achievement test
 Content-related evidence is deductive
rather than empirical. Since the approach
depends on the subjective judgment of the
domain, no quantitative coefficient is
produced by content validation.
Content. Content-related evidence requires both
 Item Validity: is concerned with whether the
test items represent measurement in the
intended content area. I
 Sampling Validity: is concerned with how well
the test samples the total content area.
Format The other aspect to content validation has to do
with the format of the instrument. This includes such
things as the clarity of printing, size of type, adequacy of
work space (if needed), appropriateness of language,
clarity of directions, grammar and spelling and so on.
 Clarity of Printing refers to the vividness of the
letters and the presentableness of the instrument.
 Size of Type refers to the size of the letters and the
lettering style(font).
 Adequacy of Work Space refers to the space
provided for the answer of a respond. This is
necessary so that the answer written by a respond
are not cluttered in one place.
 Clarity of Direction refers to the comprehensibility
of the instruction of the instrument given to
respondent.
 Appropriateness of Language refers to the choice
of words which should fit to the level of
respondents.
2. Criterion-Related Validity. This pertains to the
empirical technique of studying relationship
between the test scores and some independent
external measures.
 It is the degree to which the test agrees with or
correlates with a criterion which is set up as an
acceptable measure(Calmorin, 1994). The
criterion is always available at the time of
testing.
 The criterion measure against this type is
important because the future outcome of the
testee is predicted. The criterion measure
against which the test scores are validated and