Module 5

What is meant by "Fair Practices"?

Overall, teachers’ assessment literacy requires the inclusion of culturally responsive frameworks in order to develop fair practices that provide accurate information about students’ learning, regardless of their cultural background.

At the classroom level, teachers need to be equally responsive to the diversity of learners, with teachers highly attentive to this dimension of their assessment practice.

Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Importance of Assessment in Canadian Schools. CAP Journal Fall 2019

Assessments depend on professional judgement by educators. The quote above states that educators must facilitate fair practices in their teaching. I think “fair practices” is ensuring that teachers’ professional judgments strive to be equitable for all students. Educators should treat everyone in the class equally, not the same. This is because students are not the same. They all have different learning needs, learning styles, different goals, different behaviours, different cultural backgrounds, etc. Educators need to teach to each individual student’s education needs differently, but still ensuring that they are being fair in their teaching, evaluation and assessment. Additionally, this can be done by having assessment methods that should be developed so that inferences drawn about the knowledge, skill, attitudes and behaviour possessed by each student are valid and not open to misinterpretation. This can also be done by avoiding content and language that is viewed as sensitive, sexist or offensive. Being mindful of the diverse needs of each individual student will aid in fair assessment practices.

Strategies that Address Fair Student Assessment Practices