How far can we aspire to consistency when assessing learning?

Davis, A.J.

Abstract

How far can consistent assessment capture all the worthwhile features of educational achievement? Are some important components of learning necessarily open to a range of potentially inconsistent judgments by different assessors? I argue for a cautiously affirmative answer to this question, drawing on analogies with aesthetic judgments and a rehearsal of the holistic characteristics of some assessment criteria. I also employ recent treatments of moral particularism and of concepts of incommensurability to oppose the drive for consistency in assessment required by a high stakes accountability regime.

Citation

Davis, A. (2013). How far can we aspire to consistency when assessing learning?. Ethics and Education, 8(3), 217-228. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449642.2013.876788

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Oct 1, 2013
• Deposit Date: Feb 19, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 25, 2014
• Journal: Ethics and Education
• Print ISSN: 1744-9642
• Electronic ISSN: 1744-9650
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 8
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 217-228
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17449642.2013.876788
• Keywords: Assessment, Learning, Reliability, Validity, Consistency, Aesthetic judgment, Incommensurable.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1468712