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Is online assessment a fair way to assess students from diverse backgrounds?

Hughie Kment

Dear friend,

It is a great question you ask about online assessment being a fair way to assess students from diverse backgrounds. In my opinion, online assessments can be a fair way to evaluate students from various backgrounds, but only if certain conditions are met.

Firstly, online assessments should be designed to eliminate biases, as this can impact fairness. For example, question words, language, and images should be carefully selected and reviewed to ensure they cater to all backgrounds. To assess diverse students, the assessment should reflect an equal cultural understanding. Diversity should be respected and represented throughout the assessment process.

Another aspect of fair online assessments is to ensure that the technology supporting the online process is up to the mark and accessible for all students. Diverse backgrounds may occur with varied levels of access to technology and poor internet connectivity, so it is the ongoing responsibility of the assessor to maintain technological fairness consistently. Assessors, can support all learners by providing technical support and solutions accessible to all.

Also, diverse groups of students bring varied skillsets and experiences to the table, which is essential for developing assessment tasks that are inclusive in nature. Incorporating a range of assessment types and styles can help to reflect an individual’s knowledge, behaviours and values instead of a limited set of learning outcomes or on a single perspective.

Moreover, monitoring fairness across the assessment is imperative. This includes identifying a diverse group to assist in the assessment process and ensuring the questions are relevant and unbiased for all learners. Inclusivity can be incorporated by supporting individualized workstations that are tailored to the learner’s needs.

Finally, an essential element in fair assessment for diverse students is feedback. This can help ongoing learning and cater to requirements that may not have clearer representation throughout the assessment. Feedback structures need to be openly available, reviewed by the assessors, and validated regularly. Feedback must maintain a standard that is useful and supportive for all students to promote their further development.

In conclusion, I believe that online assessments offer a fair way to assess students from diverse backgrounds if designed and equipped appropriately. The assessment process must reflect a balance and equal cultural understanding while using up-to-date technology, multisensory resources, and individualized workstations to support diverse learners throughout. Similarly, assessing groups of students from varied backgrounds would have to review, diversify and tailor feedback mechanisms to ensure positive learning outcomes.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]