Assessment fairness and the different Sources of Assessment Bias at the Algerian University Level

Résumé

The present work tries to shed light on a critical, but neglected aspect of assessment design and delivery in the Algerian context. Indeed, many teachers are so accustomed to deliver tests and exams that they do it mechanically without thinking about their possible negative ethical effect on students’ performances. Among these aspects, one can highlight the different types of assessment bias that tests can carry and that can interfere in the students’ performances. Assessment bias or the lack of fairness on the part of the assessors are due to different causes. The present article attempts to unveil two of its main sources such as tests’ deign bias and the bias caused by assessors’ ignorance of the learners’ differences such as cultural bias, cognitive differences and the different degrees of learners’ tolerance to ambiguity.