Recognizing and prioritizing fair classroom assessment themes using Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) method

The aim of this study was to identify and weigh the themes and sub- themes of fair classroom assessment.

To achieve this aim, an interpretive phenomenology study was carried out. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were used to collect data. Using criterion sampling, after conducting 29 individual interviews, one group interview and one focus group interview with students who had at least two semesters of experience in the University of Tehran, inductive thematic saturation was obtained. Fuzzy analytical hierarchy process method was used to weigh these themes. Data for this stage were collected by a pairwise comparison questionnaire that included 53 comparisons from a sample of 9 experts in the field of assessment.   

Students' point of view analysis was performed using the Ricoeur method. Extraction of meaning units led to the identification of 20 sub-themes in 5 main themes of "educational fairness", "procedural fairness", "Nature of assessment", "Interactional fairness", and "fairness in paper and pencil test". The results of fuzzy analytical hierarchy process showed that among the 5 main themes, "educational fairness" with a weight of 0.318 was in the first place, followed by the themes of "procedural fairness", "nature of assessment", "interactional fairness", and "fairness in paper and pencil test" respectively. The final weights of the sub- themes were obtained by multiplying the weight of the main themes by the relative weight of the sub- themes; Accordingly, the sub- theme of "teaching quality" with a weight of 0.22 in the first place and the sub- themes of "informational fairness" and "professionalism in teaching" with weights of 0.11 and 0.09 were in the next positions, respectively.

Students' perception of fairness in assessment is a combination of the concepts of measurement theories and organizational justice, and the high weight of the theme of "educational fairness" among the all themes and sub- theme of "teaching quality" of this theme among all sub- themes obtained showed that Violation of educational fairness in the dimension of teaching quality will lead to an unfair perception of assessment. Conversely, if people feel that the teacher's teaching is of good quality and that the procedures used to assign the results are fair, even if it is not desirable for them, they will accept the results and understand them more fairly.