LAUSR

In this issue of Medical Education, Marceau and colleagues’ concept analysis explores and delineates ‘validity as a social imperative’ by delving into the literature on assessment in health care professions education (HPE). Marceau et al. tease out the usage of this multifaceted concept, how it is characterised and what led to its emergence in this form, and consider what the consequences of the concept might be. They conclude that some of the findings stretch or exceed the limits of traditional validity frameworks; these include the responsibility of HPE to anticipate the ‘consequences of assessment decisions for individuals and society’ and to accommodate ‘society’s increasing concern about the validity of assessment’.