Fair Summative Assessments
To be fair assessments must align the standards and address any assessment anchors and eligible content. Fair assessments must also align to the instruction and reflect the formative assessments that were conducted during the learning activities. Above all else, fair assessments must paint an accurate picture of what students actually know, understand, and are able to do.
Creating truly fair summative assessments can be a challenge. Sometimes very smart students do poorly on certain tests. For instance, assessments which include time limits are stressful and overwhelming to many students. There are many different types of learners and some students do better on tests that involve essays while others do better on multiple choice tests. Fair assessments allow students to demonstrate mastery of the information, while multiple choice, true false and other simple questions may not be true indicators of what a student knows, understands, or is able to do. Summative assessments should engage students critical thinking skills and may take the form of portfolios, exhibitions, and projects.
Combining assessment approaches is one way to create fair assessments for students. This has the added benefit of providing variety in the assessments and engaging students' critical thinking skills. Students who are engaged in this way are likely to perform better on standardized tests. When students have a deep understanding and are able to "work with" knowledge, they move beyond simple memorization and are better prepared for standardized tests and life's test.
According to Gibbs and Simpson (2004), greater flexibility gives students control over their own learning and prepares them for their future as lifelong learners. It also supports the moral and legal requirements for fairness, equality, and inclusively of assessment practices.
Fair assessments must be equitable to all students including special populations. Allowing special accommodations (e.g., letting English-Language Learners use glossaries) can enhance the fairness and validity of standardized assessments of disadvantaged students’ learning (Young et al., 2008). Students with disabilities can also be accommodated fairly. The accommodations should address the disability without impacting the measurement of what the student knows. The assessments may be altered to accommodate a student's disability, but must remain just as rigorous in the evaluation of the student's knowledge.