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Student Voice in Fair Assessment Practice

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Leading Student Assessment

Part of the book series: Studies in Educational Leadership ((SIEL,volume 15))

Abstract

Student voices from two studies investigating student perceptions of their grade-school and postsecondary assessment experiences were examined. These qualitative studies took place in 1994 and 2007 and included approximately 250 participants, ages ranging from 8 years to adult. This paper is a summary of some of the student assessment issues that were raised, for example, unaligned assessment with instruction, lack of variety of assessments, insufficient assessment opportunities, test content secrecy, trivial and ambiguous test questions, insufficient test-writing time, unclear assessment directions, and unclear scoring guides. In addition, students spoke of teachers’ unfair assessment practices in grading, such as using assessment as punishment, being biased, ridiculing and labeling students, and providing inadequate or timely feedback. Results indicate that there is a need for professional development in fair student assessment practice in schools and postsecondary education. Current assessment literature supports the students’ suggestions and their recommendations for improving student assessment practice. Some practical strategies for incorporating student voice in assessment are student-constructed tests, student-constructed rubrics, peer and self-assessment. Procedures for successfully carrying out these strategies and their implications are provided.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Pedagogic thoughtfulness and tact, or action-sensitive knowledge, are essential elements of pedagogic competence (van Manen 1984, 1991).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada

    Nola Aitken

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  1. Nola Aitken
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Correspondence to Nola Aitken .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Faculty of Human, Social and Educational, Thompson Rivers University, McGill Road 900, Kamloops, V2C 5N3, British Columbia, Canada

    Charles F. Webber

  2. , Department of Educational Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2G5, Alberta, Canada

    Judy L. Lupart

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Aitken, N. (2011). Student Voice in Fair Assessment Practice. In: Webber, C., Lupart, J. (eds) Leading Student Assessment. Studies in Educational Leadership, vol 15. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1727-5_9

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