Assessment and Bias

In my previous post I mentioned the issue of proof in assessment and education. From previous experience of teaching the MYP students pass or fail based on coursework that a sample is selected for external moderation. There are no externally set exams and as long as teachers provide an opportunity to be assessed in the specified areas the correct number of times it is unlikely in my experience that a student won't pass. A huge problem for me was that due to us having so much choice and the Music course where I taught not requiring students to play an instrument meant that we ended up altering what we would normally teach to cater for these students. Our perceptions as Music teachers changed entirely and we struggled to make peace with the fact perhaps we weren't producing students that were of the standard as Y11 students taught using other curriculums. The learning experience in the MYP can vary so much that you do question whether it is fair

Teaching MYP was hard, but it is incredibly flexible. It was a learning curve that had some great highs and some almighty lows. The majority of MYP assessments are performance based assessments and this can offer different ways for students to present and communicate their knowledge. Group work is a feature of MYP and one thing that C. Gipps points out in "What do we mean by equity in relation to assessment." is that girls have a tendency to be bossier. This is a problem when it comes to group work. Students do learn valuable skills in working as a group, however it is questionable as to whether group work provides equal opportunities for all students and is really a fair form of assessment.

The idea of equal opportunities in assessment is interesting to me. Bilingual students are a feature of all education systems and the language of learning is often actually the second language. This can pose an issue for some bilingual students in being able to have the same access to the assessment material. Colloquial terms can be problematic and exclusive. 

Questions that use a situation have to consider if the reference point is something that would be familiar for all students or just some. Scenarios and subject matter that has a gender bias can also alter the way in which a student approaches a question. Personally I dislike the idea that questions have a gender bias, because this idea suggests that subjects, topics and hobbies are gender specific.

As a teacher you strive to offer your students the best learning experience that you can. You endeavour to provide opportunities for all students to reach the same heights. Providing a level playing field is idealistic and a wonderful aim, but whether it can be provided in reality I'm not sure.