The Appropriate and Inappropriate Use of Assessments in Instructional Design

The current attention on assessment in education has cause for concern about the appropriate and inappropriate practices teachers use in instructional design. Many teachers face ethical conflicts regarding assessment and the design of instructional materials for their students. This paper focuses on defining ethical behavior and examining educators' ethical judgments in relation to assessment. According to the study (2008), Educational Leader's Perceptions about Ethical Practices in Student Evaluation, “little is known about educators’ perceptions about the ethics of student evaluation practices.” This study was a web-based survey designed to examine how much administrators agree about ethical practices in student evaluation, (p.520). The most inappropriate use of test preparation involved high-stakes test and test for special populations. The survey findings suggested that explicit guidelines for defining and avoiding unethical behavior would be helpful to teachers in developing their assessment practices.

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Assessment and Ethics

The Appropriate and Inappropriate Use of Assessments in Instructional Design

According to Popham (2008), “In recent years, for example, a number of reports have been made of teachers and administrators who deliberately coached students with actual copies of a supposedly “secure” examination. There are even reports of educators’ erasing students’ incorrect answers and substituting correct answers in their place. Teachers caught cheating on high-stakes tests have lost both their teaching licenses and their jobs. Rather than a few isolated instances, such violations of test security have become, sadly, quite common.” (p. 336). Popham goes on to discuss how with the passage of No Child Left Behind...

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About Ethical Practices in Student Evaluation

http://aje.sagepub.com/content/29/4/520.full.pdf

Popham, J., (2008), Classroom Assessment: What Teachers Need to Know, 6th ed

American Federation of Teachers, National Council on Measurement in Education,

National Education Association, (1987) Standards for Teacher Competence in Educational Assessment of Students

Yarbrough, D. B., Shulha, L. M., Hopson, R. K., and Caruthers, F. A. (2011). The Program

Evaluation Standards: A Guide for Evaluators and Evaluation Users (3rd ed.)

Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

http://www.jcsee.org/program-evaluation-standards/program-evaluation-standards-statements

Payne, E., (1997), Good Practices; Legal & Ethical Issues in Assessment & Placement

Southwest Texas State University, Center for Initiatives in Education

http://www-tcall.tamu.edu/newsletr/nov97/nov97a.htm