Criterion validity

Criterion validity is like when your mommy asks you to clean your room and you do it, but then she checks your room to see if it's really clean. She wants to make sure that you did a good job and that your room is actually clean.

Scientists use criterion validity to make sure their tests or measurements are doing what they're supposed to do. Let's say they make a test to measure reading ability. They want to know if the test is really measuring how good someone is at reading. To do this, they compare their test scores to other things that measure reading ability, like grades or other reading tests. If the scores match up well, then they have good criterion validity and can be sure their test is really measuring what they want it to measure.