Educational testing validity and reliability in pharmacy and medical education literature

Objectives. To evaluate and compare the reliability and validity of educational testing reported in pharmacy education journals to medical education literature. Methods. Descriptions of validity evidence sources (content, construct, criterion, and reliability) were extracted from articles that reported educational testing of learners' knowledge, skills, and/or abilities. Using educational testing, the findings of 108 pharmacy education articles were compared to the findings of 198 medical education articles. Results. For pharmacy educational testing, 14 articles (13%) reported more than 1 validity evidence source while 83 articles (77%) reported 1 validity evidence source and 11 articles (10%) did not have evidence. Among validity evidence sources, content validity was reported most frequently. Compared with pharmacy education literature, more medical education articles reported both validity and reliability (59%; p,0.001). Conclusion. While there were more scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) articles in pharmacy education compared to medical education, validity, and reliability reporting were limited in the pharmacy education literature.