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

Background: academic tests are valuable tools for evaluatingstudents’ knowledge and capabilities. this study aimed to assessthe content validity of final examinations at mashhad dentalschool. the practical purpose of this study was to enhance thequality of written examinations in this school.methods: the present descriptive, cross-sectional study aimed todetermine the content validity of final examination of mashhaddental school, located in northeast of iran during 2011-2012. inthis study, in collaboration with the education development office(edo) of dental school, we designed this study to assess thecontent validity of written tests in the school. the percentage ofcontent coverage (cc) and content relevance (cr) of each itemwere determined, and the percentage of content validity (cv) wascalculated using messick method. we used frequency distributiontables and diagrams in order to assess the content validity of finalexaminations.results: in total, 68 faculty members who were designers of examquestions participated in the current study. the mean percentageof cr and cc were 95.2% and 76.87 in the final exams of alldepartments, respectively. in addition, the mean percentage ofcontent validity was 86.04 in the exams of different groups.conclusions: this study concluded that the mean percentage of crand cc of final exams was good (95.2% and 76.87%) in alleducational but in many groups, it was not desirable. educationalseminars for awareness of teachers from the importance of contentvalidity and quantification method are quite effective in designingefficient exams with greater sensitivity.