Which concept refers to the consistency of measurement across repeated trials?

Which concept refers to the consistency of measurement across repeated trials?

• A. Validity
• B. Reliability
• C. Accuracy
• D. Calibration

Answer: (B)

Reliability is about the consistency of measurements when you repeat the measurement under the same conditions. If you time a runner several times with the same stopwatch and get similar results, the measurement is reliable. This matters in PE because you want to be sure observed changes reflect real performance, not random variation from the measurement. But reliability alone doesn’t guarantee accuracy or validity: a measurement can be consistent yet biased if the instrument is off, which is where calibration or accuracy come into play. Validity asks if the measurement actually assesses the intended attribute, and accuracy refers to how close the measurement is to the true value. In this item, the focus is on consistency across repeated trials, so reliability is the best fit.

Reliability is about the consistency of measurements when you repeat the measurement under the same conditions. If you time a runner several times with the same stopwatch and get similar results, the measurement is reliable. This matters in PE because you want to be sure observed changes reflect real performance, not random variation from the measurement. But reliability alone doesn’t guarantee accuracy or validity: a measurement can be consistent yet biased if the instrument is off, which is where calibration or accuracy come into play. Validity asks if the measurement actually assesses the intended attribute, and accuracy refers to how close the measurement is to the true value. In this item, the focus is on consistency across repeated trials, so reliability is the best fit.