How can you provide fair and just assessment?

Fair and just assessment is a crucial process undertaken by both the teacher
and the student. Assessment provides a measurement of the extent of the learning
of the student as well as the extent of the teaching of the teacher.
For a teacher to provide a fair and just assessment, he should consider several
factors that play a vital role in the success of the teaching-learning process. First is
the teachers concern for his students. The students as the center opf the learning
process, are they prepared for the assessment? If students ar not, it is likely that
the result of the assessment will be low or poor. Applying the laws of Thorndike,
students must be exposed to ample amount of exercise to maximize learning. Then
when they are ready, they will be given the assessment. Since they had enough
preparation, it will result to a favorable effect. Mastery of the knowledge is
demonstrated in the assessment. This is attained through constant practice.
The second consideration is the type of assessment. It must be appropriate
to the level of the students, complement to the objectives of the lessons and address
the different learning capacity of the students. Assessment should give equal
opportunity to all students. It should cater to the multiple intelligences so that no
one is left behind. The level of difficulty of the task must also complement the
ability of the students. It must not be too easy or too hard. The assessment should
be appropriate to the learning objective. Giving one type of assessment throughout
the course is ineffective. Assessment should be a myriad of activities and
experiences. It is also a golden rule in assessment that a teacher should not give an
assessment to the students about a topic they did not discuss.
Another consideration is the time allotment and availability of the resources.
A teacher should not only focus on the expectations of the curriculum but also
consider how the students will be able to meet these needs. A teacher must be
flexible enough to modify assessment strategies when the need arises but not
sacrifice the potential of student creativity.
It is also important that a teacher arrive at a consensus with the students
about the assessment process. Before the assessment, rules and policies must be
established and agreed with. It is wrong practice to change rules and policies every
time the need arises. The students must be aware of how they will be graded or
assessed so that they will know what to give because they know what is expected
of them. The teacher should give feedback. Students have the right to know how
they performed. Feedback will help them to know their strengths and weaknesses.
Most importantly, a teacher should grade students individually based in their
performance.
A teacher who gives assessment while taking into considerqrion these factors
is one who gives a fair and just assessment.