What does criterion-related validity focus on?

Criterion-related validity is concerned with the degree to which a test or assessment correlates with a specific outcome or criterion. This type of validity is critical in determining how well a test predicts performance on a related measure, often involving the comparison of test scores with other established measures of the same construct.

For instance, if a new assessment tool is designed to evaluate student readiness for a certain academic achievement, criterion-related validity would assess how well scores from the new tool predict actual performance on end-of-year exams. This predictive relationship is vital for ensuring that the assessment is not just theoretically sound but also practically useful in real-world applications, guiding decisions in educational contexts.

In the context of the other options, the focus on measuring cognitive abilities is a different aspect of how a test functions, while reliability across demographics pertains to consistency rather than the predictive power of the test. The development of items for an assessment concerns the construction process itself rather than the validity associated with how scores relate to outside benchmarks. Thus, the emphasis on the relationship between two different measures distinctly captures the essence of criterion-related validity.