Cross-cultural classroom assessment fairness

This review examines cross-cultural research on students' perceptions of distributive fairness in classroom assessment (CA) in higher education. A systematic search of five databases (EBSCOhost, PsycINFO, Scopus, Web of Science, and ERIC) covering publications from 1965 to 2023 identified only four empirical studies directly investigating cross-cultural differences in perceptions of CA fairness. This striking lack of research constitutes a major finding of the review and highlights a significant gap in the assessment literature. To provide conceptual context for understanding fairness across cultural settings, a second phase of the review examined 32 cross-cultural studies from the organizational justice literature involving student samples. Findings from the limited CA literature suggest that cultural context may influence students' perceptions of distributive fairness; however, the current evidence base is insufficient to support broad conclusions. The organizational justice literature, while originating from a different context, offers useful insights into how cultural values—particularly individualism–collectivism and power distance—may shape fairness judgments and provide a conceptual foundation for future research in educational settings.