Assessment for Learning (AfL) has become an established idea within higher education, based on the evidence that assessment is one of the most powerful drivers of student learning and thus can be harnessed as a means to improve learning. Assessment for Social Justice looks at assessment in higher education through the lens of critical pedagogy and social justice, and offers new insights to both fields of enquiry. The starting premise, adopted from AfL, is that the way in which we form and practice assessment can and should influence the social justice outcomes of higher education. Looking at a number of different theories of social justice, Jan McArthur explores how alternative theories provide the foundations for different types of assessment practice. The theories explored include the works of John Rawls, Theodor Adorno, Amartya Sen, Martha Nussbaum, Nancy Fraser and Axel Honneth. McArthur then explores different examples of assessment and how these embody, or constrain, alternative theories of social justice. She provides a theoretically rigorous understanding of assessment as a social practice, and as a vehicle both for and against social justice. Assessment for social justice is explored in two complementary ways - the justice of assessment within higher education, and assessments that promote greater social justice - and in doing so this book contributes to ongoing debates about the nature and purposes of higher education.

In Grading Justice: Teacher-Activist Approaches to Assessment, new and seasoned teachers are invited to engage with socially-just approaches of assessment, including practices aimed at resisting and undoing grading and assessment altogether, to create more democratic grading practices and policies, foregrounding the transformative potential of communication within their courses. The contributions in this collection encourage readers to consider not only how educators might assess social justice work in and beyond the classroom, but also to imagine what a social justice approach to grading and assessment would mean for intervening into unjust modes of teaching and learning. Educators wishing to explore critical modes of grading and assessment, grounded in social justice, will find this book a timely and relevant pedagogical guide for their teaching and scholarship.

The first principled examination of social justice and the advancement of opportunity as the aim and consequence of writing assessment.

This book is principally written for entry-level student affairs and non-profit staff who develop and facilitate social justice education workshops and structured conversations, as well as for student peer educators who are often employed to assist in the facilitation of such workshops for their peers. It is suitable for anyone starting out to do such work.It provides readers with a practical framework and hands-on tools to craft effective and positive interventions and workshops that are relevant to context and are true to the facilitator’s own circumstances.It offers a succinct but comprehensive introduction to the planning, design, and facilitation of social justice experiences, grounding readers in relevant theory, taking into account participants’ prior understandings of issues of race and privilege, institutional environment and campus climate, and the facilitator’s positionality. It provides guidance on defining outcomes and developing content and exercises to achieve workshop goals.Starting from the premise that the facilitation and delivery of social justice education experiences should be grounded in scholarship and that such experiences can only achieve their ends if crafted to meet the unique characteristics and circumstances of the institution and workshop participants, the authors begin by synthesizing current theory on social justice education and cultural competence, and then guiding readers on analyzing the context and purpose of their workshop. They provide readers with an easy to follow five-part framework to systematically design social justice education workshops and structured conversations and to assess the resulting learning. Particularly valuable for those starting out in this work is guidance on facilitation and on the use and selection of exercises to align with goals and participants' characteristics and social identities.

Social Justice and Educational Measurement addresses foundational concerns at the interface of standardized testing and social justice in American schools. Following John Rawls’s philosophical methods, Stein builds and justifies an ethical framework for guiding practices involving educational measurement. This framework demonstrates that educational measurement can both inhibit and ensure just educational arrangements. It also clarifies a principled distinction between efficiency-oriented testing and justice-oriented testing. Through analysis of several historical case studies that exemplify ethical issues related to testing, this book explores and propounds speculative design principles and arguments in favour of radically democratic school reforms, which address how the future of testing might be shaped to ensure justice for all. These case studies cover the widespread use of IQ-style testing in schools during the early decades of the 20th century; the founding of the Educational Testing Service; and the recent history of test-based accountability associated with No Child Left Behind. Social Justice and Educational Measurement will be essential reading for academics, researchers and postgraduate students in education, testing and assessment, and the philosophy of education. It will also be of interest to policymakers and educational administrators.

"A response to the rising significance of floods and flood-related disasters worldwide, as an initiative to promote a socially just approach to the problems of flood risk. It integrates the human-social and the technological components to provide a holistic view." - cover.