The Assessment Dilemma: Examining our practices through the lens of equity and fairness

The broader field of engineering education has for decades emphasized the need to broaden engineering participation. However, there have been few conversations about the role of assessment in engineering education as both gatekeeper and talent finder in the process. While national and international policies may communicate value for diverse perspectives in engineering, how those divergent ways of thinking and perspectives show on engineering classroom assessments is less clear. During this special session, our goal is to engage participants in a rich and difficult conversation about how fairness and equity for diverse learners can be represented in engineering assessment practices. We will present a framework for culturally responsive assessment applied to engineering context and engage participants in answering how can assessments capture the strengths that diverse students bring into engineering.