Making the Case for an Experiential Approach to Test Validation

Abstract

This paper introduces the Experiential Approach to test validation (Araneda, 2023; Araneda & Sireci, 2021), a framework grounded in phenomenology, rhetorical argumentation, and participatory epistemologies. Departing from traditional validation models centered on psychometric inference and technical justification, the Experiential Approach treats the lived experiences of test-takers and stakeholders as primary sources of validity inquiry. Drawing on standpoint theory, situated knowledges, and participatory action research, it reconceptualizes assessment as a system of interrelated devices whose validity depends on how they function in context. The paper contrasts this framework with Kane's argument-based approach, emphasizing its recursive, device-centered structure and its use of normative, functional, comparative, and critical lenses for generating validity claims. It also examines unresolved challenges concerning stakeholder negotiation, face validity, and the political limits of experiential critique. The paper contributes to emerging efforts toward more context-sensitive, pluralistic, and ethically reflexive approaches to validation.