The Validation of a Situational Judgment Test to Measure Leadership Behavior

Assessment centers, although useful for assessing behaviors and competencies associated with a targeted construct, can be low in economic utility. The current study sought to validate a situational judgment test (SJT) that was developed as an alternate form of assessment for a leadership development program. The first study examined the content validity of the SJT by performing retranslation on item stems and calibration of the item responses. The second study examined alternate forms reliability between the two forms of the leadership SJT that were developed. The third and final study evaluated the relationship between assessment center performance scores and SJT scores by demonstrating their convergent validities. Results from Study 1 demonstrated that the SALSA© test was a content valid measure of leadership ability. Results from Study 2 demonstrated that all available items from SALSA© could be used to make two forms of the test that demonstrate good alternate forms reliability. Finally, Study 3 suggests a moderate correlation between the assessment center and situational judgment test. Future research should focus on the underlying issues pertaining to significant group differences between English as primary language and English as second language students. Alternate developmental procedures, especially with alternate form assignment, should also be considered.