A DIALECTIC ON VALIDITY - WHERE WE HAVE BEEN AND WHERE WE ARE GOING

It has been suggested that the primary issue in considerations of vali dity today is the discrepancy between currently accepted theory and th e practice of validation. The reason for this discrepancy may be that although considerable discussion has taken place in educational measur ement and psychometrics regarding changes in our conceptions of validi ty, that has not been the case more generally in the social and behavi oral sciences. A dialectic on the current status of validity theory fo r social and behavioral scientists is presented to help bridge this ga p.