Concurrent Validity

Concurrent validity is a parameter used in sociology, psychology, and other psychometric or behavioral sciences. Concurrent validity is demonstrated where a test correlates well with a measure that has previously been validated. The two measures may be for the same construct, or for different, but presumably related, constructs.

The two measures are taken at the same time. This is in contrast to predictive validity, where one measure occurs earlier and is meant to predict some later measure.

Concurrent validity and predictive validity are two types of criterion-related validity. The difference between concurrent validity and predictive validity rests solely on the time at which the two measures are administered. Concurrent validity applies to validation studies in which the two measures are administered at approximately the same time. For example, an employment test may be administered to a group of workers and then the test scores can be correlated with the ratings of the workers' supervisors taken on the same day or in the same week. The resulting correlation would be a concurrent validity coefficient.

Predictive validity differs only in that the time between taking the test and gathering supervisor ratings is longer, i.e., several months or years. In the example above, predictive validity would be the best choice for validating an employment test, because employment tests are designed to predict performance.