Quantification of the Content Validity of Written Tests at Mashhad Dental School in 2011-2012

Background: Academic tests are valuable tools for evaluating students’ knowledge and capabilities. This study aimed to assess the content validity offinal examinations at Mashhad Dental School. The practical purpose of this study was to enhance the quality of written examinations in this school. Methods: The present descriptive, cross-sectional study aimed to determine the content validity of final examination of Mashhad Dental School, located in Northeast of Iran during 2011-2012. In this study, in collaboration with the Education Development Office (EDO) of Dental School, we designed this study to assess the content validity of written tests in the school. The percentage of content coverage (CC) and content relevance (CR) of each item were determined, and the percentage of content validity (CV) was calculated using Messick method. We used frequency distribution tables and diagrams in order to assess the content validity of final examinations.  Results: In total, 68 faculty members who were designers of exam questions participated in the current study. The mean percentage of CR and CC were 95.2% and 76.87 in the final exams of all departments, respectively. In addition, the mean percentage of content validity was 86.04 in the exams of different groups. Conclusions: Examinations are the most important tools to evaluate students’ learning; therefore, evaluating the final written examinationsas a measure of students’ knowledge, can help improve the quality of training. Also, teachers' awareness of the importance of content validity and quantification method is quite effective in designing efficient exams with greater sensitivity.