Which term describes how well a test predicts future performance?

The term that describes how well a test predicts future performance is validity. In the context of educational assessments, validity specifically refers to the extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure and how effectively it can forecast outcomes related to learning or skill acquisition.

For example, a valid test for predicting a student's future academic success in mathematics would correlate well with subsequent performance in more advanced math classes. This relationship demonstrates that the test is not only assessing knowledge accurately but also has implications for future academic achievements.

Reliability, while important, refers to the consistency of the test results over time or across different populations, but it does not address how well those results predict future performance. Accuracy typically relates to how correct the results of a test are, while the term informal usually describes assessments that are not standardized or are more casual in nature, lacking the rigor to predict future performance effectively. Thus, validity is the most appropriate term in this case, highlighting the predictive capability of the test in question.