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7. A student approached the teacher during the summative test in Mathematics to ask
about a test item. The teacher reworded the test item and clarified the test question.
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8. The teacher excused foreign students from participating in the Linggo ng Wika program.
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Content

Overview

This chapter centers on ethical issues and responsibilities of teachers in the assessment
process. Russell & Airasian (2012) defines assessment as more than just a technical activity
it is a human activity.

For summative purposes, assessment is used for grading, placement or admission. For

purposes different from what was intended, then there is an ethical issue.

-term and short-term consequences for

students; thus teachers have an ethical responsibility to make decisions using the most

teachers are accountable in ensuring that their assessments are valid and reliable. Validity
and reliability are aspects of fairness. Fairness is an ethical value. Other aspects of fairness
(2) opportunity to
learn; (3) prerequisite knowledge and skills; (4) avoiding student stereotyping; (5) avoiding
bias in assessment tasks and procedures; and (6) accommodating special needs.

This aspect of fairness speaks of transparency.

Transparency is defined as disclosure of information to
students about assessments.

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 This includes what learning outcomes are to be assessed and evaluated,
assessment methods and formats, weighting of items, allocated time in completing
the assessment and grading criteria or rubric.
By informing students regarding the assessment details, they can adequately
prepare and recognize the importance of assessment. They become part of the
assessment process.
By doing so, assessment becomes learner-centered.
Test-taking skills is another concern.
For instance, some students may be good in answering multiple choice test items
than other students. They may have developed test-taking skills and strategies like
reading the directions carefully, previewing the test, answering easy items first,
reading the stem and al the options before selecting an answer, marking vital
information in the stem, eliminating alternatives, and managing test time
effectively.

Opportunity to Learn
McMillan (2007) asserted that fair assessments are aligned with instruction that
provides adequate time and opportunities for all students to learn.

Prerequisite Knowledge and Skills

Students may perform poorly in an assessment if they do not possess background
knowledge and skills.
If the assessment focuses heavily on prior knowledge and prerequisite skills, this
would not be fair to the students.
To be fair, the teacher must identify early on the prerequisite skills necessary for
completing an assessment. The teacher can analyze the assessment items and
procedures and determine the pieces of knowledge and skills required to answer
them.

Avoiding Stereotyping
A stereotype is a generalization of a group of people based on inconclusive
observations of a small sample of this group.
Common stereotypes are racial, sexual and gender remarks.
Teachers should avoid terms and examples that may be offensive to students of
different gender, race, religion, culture or nationality.
in examinations.
In 1995, Steel & Aronson developed the theory of stereotype threat claiming that
for people who are challenged in areas they deem important like intellectual
ability, their fear of confirming negative stereotypes can cause them to falter in
their actual test performance.
To reduce the negative effects of stereotype threat, simple changes in classroom
instruction and assessment can be implemented such as
encouraging diverse students that they can excel at difficult

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 tasks, that any responsible student can achieve high standards, and also by
ensuring gender-free and culturally-unbiased test items.
A school environment that fosters positive practices and supports collaboration
instead of competition can be beneficial especially for students in diverse
classrooms where ethnic, gender and cultural diversity thrive.

FIVE CONCRETE CHANGES TO PSYCHO-EDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENT

group. This may inadvertently induce stereotype threats even if the information
presented in the test is accurate.
Place measures of maximal performance like ability and achievement tests at the
beginning of assessments before giving less formal self-report activities that contain
topics or information about family background, current home environment,
preferred extracurricular activities and self-perceptions of academic functioning.
Do not describe tests as diagnostic of intellectual capacity.
Determine if there are mediators of stereotype threat that affect test performance.
this can be done using informal interviews or through standardized measures of
cognitive interference and test anxiety.
Consider possibility of stereotype threat when interpreting test scores of susceptible
typecast individuals.

AVOIDING BIAS IN ASSESSMENT TASKS AND PROCEDURES

Assessment must be free from bias.
Fairness demands that all learners are given equal chances to do well (from the
task) and get a good assessment (from the rater).
Teachers should not be affected by factors that are not part of the assessment
criteria.

TWO FORMS OF ASSESSMENT BIAS

OFFENSIVENESS
- happens if test-takers get distressed, upset or distracted about how an individual or a
particular group is portrayed in the test. The content of the assessment may have
contained slurs or negative stereotypes of particular ethnic, religious or any other group,
causing undue resentment, discomfort or embarrassment on some directly affected
students.

UNFAIR PENALIZATION
- harms student performance due to test content, not because items are offensive but
rather, the content caters to some particular groups from the same economic class, race,
gender, etc., leaving other groups at a loss or a disadvantage.

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Accommodating Special Needs
Teachers need to be sensitive to the needs of students.
Certain accommodations must be given especially for those who are physically or
mentally challenged.
-Development and
Self-Reliance of Disabled Person and their Integration into the Mainstream of

Accommodation does not mean giving advantage to students with learning

disabilities, but rather allowing them to demonstrate their knowledge on
assessments without hindrances from their disabilities.
Accommodation can be places in one of six categories (Thurlow, et al., 2000)
Presentation
Response
Setting
Timing
Scheduling
Others
To ensure the appropriateness of the accommodation supplied, it should take into
account three important elements:

Type and format of assessment

Competency and content being assessed

RELEVANCE
It can also be thought of as an aspect of fairness.
Irrelevant assessment would mean short-changing students of worthwhile
assessment experiences.
Assessment should be set in a context that students will find purposeful.
Killen (2000) gave additional criteria for achieving quality assessments.
Assessment should reflect the knowledge and skills that are most important
for students to learn.

are important.
Assessment should tell teachers and individual students something that they
do not already know

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ETHICAL ISSUES
There are times when assessment is not called for.
Asking pupils to answer sensitive questions like their sexuality or problems in the
family are unwarranted especially without the consent of the parents.
Grades and reports of teachers generated from using invalid and unreliable test
instruments are unjust. Resulting interpretations are inaccurate and misleading.
Other ethical issues in testing that may arise include possible harm to the
participants; confidentiality of results; deception in regard to the purpose and use
of the assessment; and temptation to assist students in answering tests or
responding to surveys.

Reference

De Guzman, E. & Adamos, J. (2015). Assessment of Learning 1. Adriana

Publishing Company: Quezon City

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