Fairness Concerns Resulting From Innovations and Applications of Technology to Assessment

Abstract

The role of standardized tests in higher education has undergone profound changes in the past few years due to COVID-19, the social justice movement, renewed legal challenges to affirmative action, and the continued trend toward test-optional policies. Together, these externalities have formed a near-perfect storm which results in about 80% of institutions adopting a test-optional policy today, in comparison to 12% of institutions in 2019. This chapter addresses three applications of standardized tests in higher education—in admissions, placement, and outcomes assessment. The history, intended use, content, design, and volumes of U.S. assessments employed in admissions, placement, and outcome assessment are described, along with discussion of research on validity, reliability, and fairness. By 2023, five of the six national admissions tests described will transition exclusively to digital delivery. Finally, alternatives to tests are discussed, as well as more recent external challenges to testing (e.g., University of California, Varsity Blues).

Keywords: placement tests; higher education; admissions tests; admissions; student learning outcomes; test-optional; grades; group differences in test scores