Fairness in Assessment

I believe that establishing guidelines for assignments, projects, discussions, etc. help create an unbiased way of grading and assessing students. Use of rubrics, tests and quizzes, outlined guidelines, and specific instructions on assignments can be used to allow each student the same opportunity to succeed in the classroom. This seems fair, however, each student has different learning abilities, therefore limiting assessment to one or two different methods can prevent certain students from achieving their best potential.

I believe that a fair assessment for an assignment should be determined by a. the learning abilities of all students, b. what you expect to be achieved and/or learned by the completion of the assignment and c. the amount of work it may or may not take to complete the assignment. Also, I believe giving different assignments for each topic, or unit, of instruction will allow each student an opportunity to do well, as well as learn the material. Tests and quizzes are great for identifying what a student may or may not know (or may or may not have memorized; most students just memorize information for tests to pass), however, projects, essays and reflection papers allow students to use the knowledge they acquired and be creative, as well as demonstrating how well they understand.

Overall, I think that being able to be fair in assessment, there has to be a diverse amount of assignments, as well as specific criteria for each assignment, for a teacher to be able to identify whether or not students are, or aren't, understanding material taught within the classroom.