Assessing educators' perceptions of ethicalness of various assessment practices

Abstract

Research evidence appears to point to a lack of consensus among teachers of varying age and experience on what behaviors may or may not be considered ethical when dealing with student assessment. This study was an attempt to better measure teacher's perceptions of ethical assessment behavior. A new instrument, the Educator's Perceptions of Ethical Assessment Practice (EPEAP) was developed. The EPEAP is a combination of 30 ethical and unethical assessment scenarios. Standards set by the Joint Committee for Ethical Evaluation Standards were used as the basis for denoting correct or incorrect participant answers. Participants were 133 in-service and pre-service teachers selected from an education program at an urban midwestern university. Chi-square analyses showed that on 10 items, statistically significant differences were found among; teaching levels, age, gender, school level, and school setting. No statistically significant differences were found between the above groups. On 12 items, participants scored below the mean score (M=69, SD=3) of the survey. Results show a need to further investigate ethical assessment in order to facilitate new ways to create educators better versed in ethical assessment practice.