Validity and fairness

Xi’s article (this volume) lays out a broad framework for studying fairness as comparable validity across groups within the population of interest. She proposes to develop a fair-ness argument that would identify and evaluate potential fairness-based objections to proposed interpretations and uses of the test scores. The fairness argument would focus on whether an interpretation is equally plausible for different groups and whether the decision rules are appropriate for the groups. The model combines fairness and validity in a common framework. Under Xi’s model (this volume), a fairness analysis would evaluate a range of potential challenges to the comparability of score-based inferences and decisions across various groups within a population. The resulting fairness argument would suggest a range of empirical hypotheses about the comparability of interpretations and decision outcomes across groups, and thereby identify potential threats to fairness/validity. This argument-based approach would address how fairness issues play out in score-based interpretations, decisions, and consequences. By organizing fairness investigations within a well-defined, argument-based framework, this approach can be particularly useful in focusing research