Construct‐Irrelevant Variance in High‐Stakes Testing

There are many threats to validity in high‐stakes achievement testing. One major threat is construct‐irrelevant variance (CIV). This article defines CIV in the context of the contemporary, unitary view of validity and presents logical arguments, hypotheses, and documentation for a variety of CIV sources that commonly threaten interpretations of test scores. A more thorough study of CIV is recommended.