Equity in Assessment

Equity in assessment requires first that tests and other sources of evidence used to make judgments about students' knowledge and skills be accurate and fair, and second that the consequences that follow from the use of assessment information also be beneficial and fair to the students themselves. This entry includes a brief history of IQ testing and the origins of inequitable treatment caused by testing, a description of approaches developed to correct for bias and unfairness, a summary of achievement test uses that may contribute to educational inequities, and finally a set of conditions that would need to be satisfied to ensure equity in assessment.