Validation Is a Methodology! Guideposts for Assessment Development and Validation

Measurement and assessment in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education is one central topic within STEM education scholarship. While there has been an increase in validation-related scholarship within STEM education, there are few guides for users to conduct validation work. Providing guidance for a broad readership, not just methodologists, offers potential for scholars from more backgrounds to engage in validation. To that end, the purpose of this paper is to build upon past scholarship and both articulate and situate validation as a methodology. Guideposts are provided to support readers as they engage in validation scholarship. A strategy is also provided to give readers support as they engage in validation scholarship. One key outcome from this paper is foundational work that scholars can leverage and extend, challenge, and generate new validation-related work, which in turn moves assessment practice and scholarship forward.