ABSTRACT
Scores and their intended meaning are communicated to stakeholders through a score report, whether that report is paper-based or digital, static or dynamic. Stakeholders rely on the information presented in the report to guide their subsequent policies, recommendations, plans, and actions. The likelihood that such score-based decisions are reasonable and appropriate is dependent, in part, on the relevance and accuracy of the reported scores with regards to the constructs being measured and the students’ standing on those constructs, and the ability of the stakeholders to comprehend the reported information in the way intended. As one considers that validity is inextricably tied to evidence supporting score interpretation and use, it is clear that we need to conceptualize and construct score reports purposefully to facilitate intended interpretation and use. This chapter highlights and discusses key concepts and practices that are intended to support the validity (meaningfulness) of score reports. It covers sources of validity evidence with implications for score reports, general strategies to build alignment between tests and score reports, and guidelines and practices for developing score reports.
