What does it mean for classroom assessment to be effective and equitable? A response to Van Orman, Riley-Lepo, and McMillan

In this article, I examine the conceptual boundaries of the research-informed, socioculturally grounded framework for effective and equitable classroom assessment proposed by Van Orman, Riley-Lepo, and McMillan (this issue). I suggest that theories explaining how learning is socially and culturally situated still require an explicit account of the constructs, evidence, and inferences involved in assessment. Several of the proposed principles describe important conditions for equitable learning, but their implications for assessment depend on the purposes for which evidence is collected and used. I also suggest that culturally responsive assessment practices should be evaluated by considering whether they remove construct-irrelevant barriers, alter the intended construct, or change the range of situations to which conclusions may be generalised. Finally, I suggest that by framing the principles as resolutions of trade-offs, educators can pursue equity while remaining clear about the inferences supported by equitable classroom assessment.