A literacy assessment tool should have which property to be trustworthy?

• A. Randomness
• B. Validity
• C. Length
• D. Complexity

Answer: (B)

Trust in a literacy assessment comes from validity—the extent to which the test actually measures the literacy skills it’s meant to assess. When a tool is valid, its items align with real reading and writing abilities at the target level, so the scores reflect true skill rather than unrelated things like test-taking tricks or irrelevant content. Validity is what lets educators trust that the results support accurate decisions about placement, instruction, and progress. Randomness would add noise and reduce trustworthiness, while length or complexity alone doesn’t guarantee that the test is measuring the right constructs. A test can be long and difficult but still miss key literacy skills, or be short and valid if it targets the essential abilities effectively. So the best property for trust is validity.