Challenges and implications in achieving content validity of an authentic assessment task designed to assess seafarer's leadership and managerial skills

Authentic assessment tasks test the students’ knowledge to apply knowledge and skills acquired in classrooms to scenarios resembling real-world contexts. However, the fidelity of context cannot alone assure that essential aspects and constructs of professional competencies are being accurately assessed. Testing assessment tasks for content validity assures the extent to which the assessment instrument provides a representative sample of the content domain in the area of interest. This paper presents the findings from subjecting an authentic assessment instrument (case study designed to assess seafarer students’ leadership and managerial skills) through the process of its content validity testing using a validation survey. Twelve subject matter experts responded to the validation survey after reviewing the case study to indicate the extent to which they found the representation of the skills to be assessed. The findings highlight the challenges and implications (lack of training of maritime educators in the area of validity testing, authentic assessment implementation, and case study writing) in achieving the content validity of an authentic assessment. The challenges and implications, if addressed, will improve the overall validity of assessment and the resulting learning outcomes.