5.5 | Authentic Assessment
Authentic Assessment
If inequities in grading are not addressed early in a person's academic journey, they could potentially perpetuate inequity in future opportunities. One of the most important strategies for practicing equitable, fair grading is to ensure grades reflect students' mastery of knowledge and skills based on measurable and observable course objectives that promote learning. Objective assessment can be challenging however, and the ASCD's article "A Roadmap for Equitable Grades" 1 provides the following strategies.
- Set clear objectives. Students should have a clear understanding of what knowledge and skills they will demonstrate upon completing the lesson/unit/course activities. Essentially the course design process begins with the development of clear objectives. This process is known as backward design.
- Develop measurable criteria. Students need measures to successfully achieve the goal or expectation. Bloom's Taxonomy
Links to an external site.can be very useful for developing measurable course objectives. Criteria should be concise, student-centered, easily understood, and clearly communicated so that students understand expectations.
- Create equitable assessment rubrics. Equitable grading of assessments, which are aligned to learning standards and objectives, make use of rubrics that highlight student learning and mastery. Rubrics help students to understand that formative assessment checks for understanding and progress, and allows for mistakes and revisions. Grades on the rubric are not summative and are for monitoring growth, so instructors should write meaningful comments to go with the grade.
To take a deeper dive into the processes of Backward Design, using Bloom's Taxonomy, and developing equitable Rubrics, please navigate through the remaining pages of this module.
Works Cited
- Lin, Ntuli. "A Roadmap for Equitable Grades." ASCD Links to an external site.. 4 September 24, 2020. Accessed 8 January 2022.
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