ETHICAL ISSUES IN

TESTING AND ASSESMENT

Submitted by: Dr Rabia Masood
Dr Saqlain Bin Syed Gillani
Dr Amir Ghafoor
(PGD Spring-2020)
 ABSTRACT

Testing and assessment is an important part of the education system worldwide.

Testing holds particular significance in Pakistan where grades are often clear determinants of the
students’ success.

However, ethical issues such as cheating, bribery, biased marking, lax invigilation and poorly
constructed tests may significantly reduce the validity of the test being conducted.

This research uses secondary data analysis to determine some of the major ethical issues
prevalent in testing in Pakistani educational system.

It also proposes some suggestions on how to overcome these breaches in ethical conduct, after an
in-depth analysis of the situation.
 What are some basic What are some ways in
ethical issues that may which these ethical
arise in university issues may be
assessments in overcome in Pakistani
Pakistan? institutes?
 OBJECTIVES AND SIGNIFICANCE
The purpose of this research is
directly linked to the purpose behind
testing and assessment itself.
This research aims to highlight
possible ethical issues which may
create a hindrance in achieving the
original goal of testing and
assessment.
If there are ethical issues in the
assessment process, it is possible that
the aim of assessment is not being
fulfilled.
This paper aims to bring ethical
issues to light, so that their
consequences and importance may be
understood, and to perhaps, provide
suggestions for how ethical guidelines
can be implemented in Pakistani
universities.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

It is as Johnston (2017) elaborates “The key to secondary data analysis is to apply theoretical knowledge and conceptual
skills to utilize existing data to address the research questions” (p. 620). Since we already possess the required
theoretical and factual knowledge, all that remains is to use that theoretical knowledge to answer the research
questions.

Countless studies have already been conducted both locally and internationally about ethical issues faced in assessment;
including cheating, favouritism, plagiarism, invalid and unreliable tests, negligence and poor invigilation.

To replicate these studies once again would perhaps not be as beneficial as using the primary data already available to
simply analyse the issue at hand and devise a solution for it.

The topic itself – ethical issues in testing and assessment – is one that is qualitative by nature, hence, statistical
measures and tests have not been applied to this research. Rather, a purely descriptive approach has been adopted,
where an in-depth analysis of the present data has been used to answer the research questions.
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The
The ethical
ethical issues
issues prevalent
prevalent in
in our
our testing
testing and
and
assessment
assessment process were divided into three main
process were divided into three main
segments,
segments,

The development of the test

The
The administration
administration of
of the
the test
test

The marking of the test.

 ETHICAL ISSUES IN DEVELOPING ASSESSMENTS

Expertise in test development.

Validity of the test

Reliability of the test.

Inter-Rater Reliability.

Parallel Forms Reliability.

Test-Retest Reliability.

Uniform difficulty level.

Clear and Simple Instructions.

ETHICAL ISSUES IN TEST ADMINISTRATION

Testing
environment

Security of
test.

Competent
invigilators.

Cheating.

Justice.
ETHICAL ISSUES IN MARKING AND GRADING
ASSESSMENTS

Expert Examiners.

Use of marking
schemes

Grading policy.

Extraneous
variables.

Biased checking.

Confidentiality.

Discussing results
with students.
Ethical issues in testing and assessment are prevalent in colleges and universities around Pakistan.

Students, teachers, coordinators, examiners and invigilators alike may be responsible for these breaches
which may take place during test development, administration or grading.

To overcome serious ethical issues such as cheating, bias in checking, low reliability and validity of the
test, negligence, uncomfortable testing environment etc., educational institutes of Pakistan must ensure
that the examination procedure is conducted in an organized manner.

The duty of developing tests, assigning invigilators and examiners, and conducting training workshops
should be given to specific departments that are responsible for overseeing the assessment process.
 BIBLIOGRPAHY
Alam, M. T., & Farid, S. (2011). Factors affecting teachers motivation. International journal of Business and social science, 2(1), 298-304.

Anderman, E. M., & Murdock, T. B. (Eds.). (2011). Psychology of academic cheating. Elsevier.

Biggs, J. (1999). What the student does: Teaching for enhanced learning. Higher education research & development, 18(1), 57-75.

Berkeley City College. (Retrieved on June 23, 2020). What is Academic Dishonesty? Retrieved from https://www.berkeleycitycollege.edu/wp/de/what-is-
academic-dishonesty/

Cohen, A. S., & Wollack, J. A. (2006). Test administration, security, scoring, and reporting. Educational measurement, 4, 17-64.

Cohen, R. J., Swerdlik, M. E., & Phillips, S. M. (1996). Psychological testing and assessment: An introduction to tests and measurement. Mayfield Publishing Co.

DeCarlo, M. (2018). Scientific inquiry in social work.

Hinton, D. P., & Higson, H. (2017). A large-scale examination of the effectiveness of anonymous marking in reducing group performance differences in higher
education assessment. PloS one, 12(8), e0182711.

Hussain, S., Shaheen, N., Ahmad, N., & Islam, S. U. (2019). Teachers’ classroom assessment practices: challenges and opportunities to classroom teachers in
Pakistan. Dialogue, 14(1), 88.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Johnston, M. P. (2017). Secondary data analysis: A method of which the time has come. Qualitative and quantitative methods in libraries,
3(3), 619-626.

Jun, G., Tiemin, M., & Yunli, G. (2011). The Design and Implementation of Invigilation Management System in University [J]. Journal of
Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, 3.

Kaplan, R. M., & Saccuzzo, D. P. (2017). Psychological testing: Principles, applications, and issues. Nelson Education.

Kaufman, H. E. (2008). Moral and ethical issues related to academic dishonesty on college campuses. Journal of College and Character, 9(5).

Khalid, A., Azeem, M., & Bashir, M. (2011). English as Second Language: Alignment Perspective as Quality Improvement in Pakistan.
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 1(20), 264-269.

Kiley, M., & Mullins, G. (2004). Examining the examiners: How inexperienced examiners approach the assessment of research theses.
International Journal of Educational Research, 41(2), 121-135.

Koshy, S. (2008). Using marking criteria to improve learning: an evaluation of student perceptions.

Read, P. B. (1974). On the Confidentiality of Student Test Scores. City University of New York.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Rehman, R. R., & Waheed, A. (2014). Ethical perception of university students about academic dishonesty in Pakistan: identification of student's dishonest acts.  The
Qualitative Report, 19(4), 1-13.

Rehmani, A. (2003). Impact of public examination system on teaching and learning in Pakistan. International Biannual Newsletter ANTRIEP, 8(2), 3-7.

Ross, K. N. (2005). Quantitative research methods in educational planning. International Institute for Educational Planning/Unesco. Retrieved from www. unesco. org/iiep.
[Accessed: 8th may 2014].

Schneider, J., & Hutt, E. (2014). Making the grade: A history of the A–F marking scheme. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 46(2), 201-224.

Simkin, M. G., & McLeod, A. (2010). Why do college students cheat? Journal of Business Ethics, 94(3), 441-453

Urbina, S. (2014). Essentials of psychological testing . John Wiley & Sons.

Walker, K. (2010). Optimal Testing Environment. Research Brief. Principals' Partnership.

Wollack, J. A., & Fremer, J. J. (Eds.). (2013). Handbook of test security. Routledge.

Zakai, H.A. (2015). Developing Classroom Tests. Medical Laboratory Technology Department Faculty Applied Medical Sciences. Retrieved from
https://www.kau.edu.sa/Files/142/Files/49461_Developing_Classroom_Tests.pdf

Zuriff, G. E. (2000). Extra examination time for students with learning disabilities: An examination of the maximum potential thesis. Applied Measurement in Education,
13(1), 99-117.