Why and How Does Equity Matter in Assessment?
Jennifer Keys; Eun Sandoval-Lee; Hilary Zimmerman; Jackie Wickham Smith; Jim Stachowiak; and Lauri Dietz
Session Facilitator/Moderator: Jennifer Keys (Searle Center)
Session Co-Facilitator/Moderator: Eun Sandoval-Lee (Searle Center)
Session Panelists: Hilary Zimmerman (OIDI), Jackie Wickham Smith (SPS), Jim Stachowiak (AccessibleNU), Lauri Dietz (Searle Center)
Introduction
Why should we consider redesigning assessments? How should equity be honored in the process? How could we create more equitable classrooms by redesigning assessments?
In this first core session, we discuss the integration of equity into student-centered assessments in multiple Northwestern contexts. We will showcase how equitable assessment practices can meet your learning goals and preserve rigor in your courses, while also supporting your students’ learning needs. Integrating transparency into curriculum design supports not only student learning in an individual course; it can also develop students’ intrinsic motivation to learn as they anticipate and plan for what comes ahead in a course or academic program. The transparency model enables instructors to learn, identify, and adjust based on specific student needs so that all students can be successful in their academic journeys. This panel will include representatives from AccessibleNU, the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, the Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching, and School for Professional Studies to address why and how equity matters in assessment—in programmatic assessment, course-level assessment, and assignment-level assessments.
By the end of this session, participants will have engaged with panelists who:
- Discuss the significance of transparency and equity in the assessment process
- Examine how rigorous standards can be upheld within assessment frameworks
- Illuminate ways in which biases can have a negative impact on assessment outcomes
- Discuss strategies and approaches to place student learning at the center of the assessment process
Session recording
Slides and resources
- 2022-23 Universal Design for Learning Practicum Open Educational Resource
- “Rigor: Seriously, what does that even mean? Anything?” (Clark & Talbert, 2021)
- The Equity-Excellence Imperative: A 2030 Blueprint for Undergraduate Education at U.S. Research Universities (The Boyer 2030 Commission, The Association for Undergraduate Education at Research Universities, UERU)
- Equity in Assessment (National Institute for Learning Outcome Assessment)
