Trustworthiness of Teacher Assessment and Decision-Making: Reframing the Consistency and Accuracy Measures

Abstract

The quality of assessment tools and the inferences drawn from the results to inform decisions in the classroom are usually measured using reliability and validity. These psychometric principles have been criticised for their inapplicability to classroom assessment, resulting in a parallel set of ‘classroometric’ principles. However, the use of two parallel principles widens the perceived dichotomy between formative and summative assessments. To overcome this dichotomy and ensure consistency of teachers’ decision-making, the concept of trustworthiness, drawn from qualitative research methodology, is increasingly being adopted, but it is under-theorised. We used a scoping technique to explore how this concept has been used in the assessment literature since it was first introduced in 1993. We accessed journal articles from four databases using combinations of search terms, resulting to 1,872 papers. Upon removal of duplicates and application of exclusion criteria, 27 papers remain relevant for full analysis. Our analysis expands Lincoln and Guba’s (1985) four criteria of qualitative research (credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability) to include authenticity, rigour, fairness, equity, consistency, defensibility, accuracy, and adequacy and appropriateness of data. We develop a framework and a working definition for understanding trustworthiness in the context of assessment.