Creating Inclusive Assessments
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Assessment and feedback are consistently highlighted as areas requiring greater attention in both further and higher education. (for example see BBC News Story)
All assessments should be about assessing the learner’s knowledge and skill rather than the learner’s disability. For example, the cognitive load involved in using a screen reader to navigate around a multiple choice question may be more intellectually demanding than the question itself.
The use of technology in assessment follows the same principles as the use of technology in other areas of education – there will be many contexts in which the use of technology in addition to, or instead of, existing methods of assessment will result in a more flexible, inclusive experience for learners. Conversely, there will be occasions where using technology cannot effectively assist in the assessment process. When the use of technology in assessment of learning was in its infancy, terms such as Computer-Based Assessment, Computer-Aided (or Assisted) Assessment and e-Assessment were used. Hopefully staff involved in assessment are now sufficiently familiar with technology that these specific terms can be dropped, and we can focus primarily on assessment, and simply recognise where technology can be used to deliver it more inclusively.
It is important to recognise that there will be a very wide and diverse user base when delivering formative or summative assessment; using technology as an aid to the assessment process; or assessing entirely online (such as for distance education courses - where learners are based in the classroom, in the work place, using public libraries in prisons or within the community). Whatever the scenario, working within FE and Wider Skills with awarding bodies or in HE with university validation forums or committees, assessing inclusively using technology is a vital topic to understand.
JISC Techdis resources on reasonable adjustment and on accessible assessment can help with adapting assessments so that they are as fair for a disabled learner as any other.
Many of the considerations in creating inclusive assessments are similar to those in creating inclusive learning in general, but specific guidance on assessment is nevertheless available.
Related Resources
- Accessible E-Assessment Guidelines
- Upwardly Mobile
- Accessibility Passport
- Reasonable Adjustments
- What’s It Worth? HEAT Project Developing equivalent assessment opportunities for students with disabilities, through the use of digital video and audio recordings
- Using e-Book Readers in Student Assessment
- Using podcasts and vodcasts in assessment and feedback practices in Law and Economics
