Language Teaching Research Quarterly

The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (AERA et al., 2014) states that “It is incorrect to use the unqualified phrase ‘the validity of the test’” (p. 11). Although the Standards clearly states that it is incorrect to use the phrase “validity of the test” because “it is the interpretations of test scores for proposed uses that are evaluated, not the test itself” (p. 11), many authors still use this terminology. This study examines how frequently this occurs, why this may occur, and how to interpret this phenomenon. First, examination of articles published in Language Testing and Language Assessment Quarterly between 2011–2022 resulted in 233 articles being identified as including the expression “validity of + test” at least once. Next, the context around the occurrences of “use(s)” and “interpretation(s)” within these articles was analyzed to determine whether the author(s) referred to test interpretation and use. This was interpreted as evidence that the authors were familiar with the Standards’ definition of validity, even though they used language that contradicted the Standards’ guidelines. This study sheds light on the extent to which authors adhere to the Standards’ guidelines and potential factors contributing to deviations from the recommended terminology.