Meeting the individual needs of learners is a difficult task. Doing so in a way that doesn’t elicit undue negative perceptions or reactions is even more challenging. Such is the challenge when creating quality assessments. They must demonstrate equity (individual students are having their needs met) and fairness (negative perceptions or reactions are minimized). In the book Classroom Assessment Essentials, author Susan M. Brookhart shares the following strategies to support equity and fairness in assessment (pp. 90-93):
- Clearly state goals in language understood by students. The goal of any assessment must be understood by the students if it is to be successful.
- Involve students in creating assessments aligned to their lived experiences. Finding ways to bring in student language, interests, and lived experiences is helpful.
- Apply accommodations. Follow all the tenets of 504 plans and IEP’s.
- Differentiate instruction and assessment when needed.
- Make efforts to identify and reduce bias. Make sure your assessment matches what was actually taught. Be sensitive regarding the content of the questions to ensure there are no cultural assumptions standing in the way of content mastery.
- Employ ungraded assessment measures along the way. Not everything students do must be graded. That doesn’t mean assessments should go unchecked. They should be checked, and they should be returned with quality feedback specific to learning.
- Use multiple, diverse sources of evidence of learning. Apply the UDL principles liberally.
- Allow for revision and multiple attempts to demonstrate learning. Assessment is about measuring growth. Students should be allowed to improve their learning and should have opportunities to improve and resubmit items.
As you prepare for next week, think of how you might develop and deploy equitable and fair assessments. You and your students will be glad you did!
Phil Harrison Coaching 