ABSTRACT
Although I was quick to say yes when Ann Jungeblut asked me to participate in this celebration of Sam Messick’s contributions to educational and psychological measurement, I must admit it is a bit intimidating to think of talking about issues of validity, constructs, and values in this context. Many people have contributed to the refinement of the way that the field thinks about validity. Two people, Sam Messick and Lee Cronbach, however, stand head and shoulders above the crowd in this regard. In the space available, it would be difficult to do justice to a summary of the ways in which Sam has advanced our thinking about the interplay of constructs and values or the process of validating inferences and actions based on test scores. The intimidation, however, comes from
the desire to build and extend his work in these complex areas with him sitting here. Nonetheless, I, of course, told Ann that it was a great idea and wouldn’t miss the chance to participate.
