Fairness is a term commonly used but rarely understood, critiqued, or analyzed. When used in relation to educational testing, the concept of fairness is also cluttered by the conflicting evidence supporting the construct validity of assessments or the reliability of those assessments for a diverse population. When consequential validity is also called into question, then educational testing itself becomes a quagmire. Yet teachers do need assessments to gauge student learning, or to provide students with the educational resources they need to thrive. Consequential validity refers to the ways educators use assessments, standardized or not (Denner, Norman & Lin, 2009). Teachers unfamiliar with the concept of consequential validity may be acting unfairly without knowing, causing harm to students inadvertently. The harms coming from consequential validity can be ameliorated by using a Biblical worldview and corresponding ethical approach to education.
The Bible emphasizes fairness and equity, “for God shows no partiality,” (Romans 2:11). If God’s love is fairly distributed, then so too should all the human resources available on the planet. Education is something that should always be fair, for even though there may be differences in student aptitude and performance, predilection and disposition, there should always be fairness in the ways educational resources such as teacher attention, opportunities, and technologies are disseminated throughout the population. Consequential validity is certainly a worthwhile endeavor when it serves the higher purpose of ensuring fairness and social justice. When teachers administer assessments, they should take great care to review the constructs in question and the populations on which the standardized test was based. Furthermore, teachers should also keep in mind that their interpretation of the results could be biased or even wrong and may seek consultation from trusted colleagues or from the parents before making a decision that could affect the student’s social and academic career.
References
Denner, P., Norman, A. & Shu-Yuan Lin. Fairness and consequential validity of teacher work samples. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability 21 (2009): 235-254.
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