Minimizing Bias When Assessing Student Work

Pamela Steinke and Peggy Fitch   |    Volume Twelve  |   

Bias is part of the human condition and becoming aware of how to avoid bias will help to ensure greater accuracy in the work of assessment. In this paper the
authors discuss three different theoretical frameworks that can be applied when
assessing student work for cognitive skills such as critical thinking and problem
solving. Each of the frameworks highlights the importance of underlying response structure, rather than specific perspective expressed, in evaluating the quality of the response. The authors provide examples of how focusing on the structure of the response within each framework will help those assessing student work to minimize bias in their scoring and discuss how recent developments in higher education necessitate more work in this area.

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