Address unconscious bias in teaching and assessment

Marking students’ work is an educational practice that carries responsibility to ensure fairness. Combatting unconscious bias when marking is an important practice in assessment. Marking bias occurs when judgements are not restricted to the assessment criteria but are influenced by differences in the world views of student and marker, and the markers’ beliefs.

At Monash, awareness of unconscious bias is promoted as part of fostering a culture of equity, integrity and respect. This applies equally to the orientation that should be adopted when marking students’ assessments.

Bias in marking (whether conscious or unconscious) affects more than students’ grades and qualifications and, therefore, their opportunities for future success. It can also diminish their confidence, identity, motivation to learn, and their sense of connection to each other, their teachers, and to Monash University. It undermines principles of fairness in assessment practice and students’ perceptions of fairness is important in maintaining productive educational relationships with them. Apprehending and addressing bias in marking is, therefore, part of creating an equitable and inclusive learning environment.

However, establishing inclusive learning environments presents tensions for assessment. If inclusive practice rests on relationships with learners, knowing our learners, acknowledging and responding to difference, subjectivity then sits at the heart of the pedagogical relationship. Subjectivity cuts across the anonymity that may be seen as necessary to eradicate bias in marking.

Recent research positions subjective human judgement as a legitimate part of evaluative expertise and signals that attempts towards fairness in one direction (e.g. improving consistency of marking through structured rubrics) may create unfairness in another (e.g. by narrowing the possibilities for expressing knowledge). Other researchers have criticised anonymous marking as detrimental to formative assessment and dialogic feedback. Further, some of the approaches to assessment that are built on principles advocated by researchers (e.g. authentic, creative, cumulative, and programmatic assessment) involve educators becoming familiar with students’ work and tone over time. Identifiabilty then becomes an important component of inclusive assessment. Objective assessment is rarely attainable and this means educators must look towards other ways of ensuring rigour and trustworthiness in their assessment.

The following steps (informed by Muneer and colleagues’ work at Plymouth University) may help to reduce the risk of personal prejudices affecting your marking.

1Recognise that everyone has unconscious biases

The first step to resisting unconscious biases is to be aware of their existence and that everyone has them.

2  Identify your biases

Think about what groups you identify with, or what kinds of people you are more likely to feel uncomfortable around. Tools such as Harvard’s Implicit Association Test can help with this. This process may be uncomfortable but it is a valuable activity as an assessor, and as an educator more generally.

3  Refer carefully to assessment criteria to support decisions 

High workloads and time pressures are significant contributors to prejudiced marking because using stereotypes and generalisations is an efficient way to make decisions. Setting aside a realistic period of time to mark assessments and attending closely to the stated criteria rather than intuition can reduce reliance on stereotypes in judgements of quality.

4  Help students understand assessment processes

When students have a clear understanding of assessment tasks and expectations, they are in a much better position to successfully complete their work. An investment during the unit in talking through the rationale for the assessment design, what level of work is expected, what makes for an appropriate response to the assessment task, etc., is an important part of reducing the risk of some students misunderstanding what is required of them. This includes giving realistic and appropriate opportunities for all students to ask questions or test their understanding.

Engage in open communication with students about marking and moderation to help them understand how assessment processes act against discrimination. This has the additional benefit of contributing to a trusting relationship between educators and students which is important for promoting effective feedback processes.

1Take a holistic approach to inclusivity

Marking is just one element of assessment. To more meaningfully address bias, educators can take a more holistic approach by embedding inclusivity and an appreciation of diversity within all of their planning, design, teaching and assessment practices. For example, each unit can intentionally work towards a culture of mutual respect, encouraging students to express themselves openly and honestly. The following steps (also informed by Muneer and co), may help:

2  Appreciate diversity through in class examples

The examples used within a unit to explain or apply ideas can signal particular biases, for example by associating a gender or ethnicity with stereotypical characteristics. Examples that challenge such associations and illustrate diversity can be a valuable part of an inclusive teaching approach.

3  Encourage participation of under-represented groups

Consider ways of intentionally encouraging participation from a wider range of students in learning activities and discussion, without placing undue pressure on vulnerable people. This might be as simple as reminding all students that their contributions are valued, or it might involve creating different options and opportunities for them to express ideas.

4  Adopt an affirming approach

Positive encouragement of different kinds of contribution within a unit can help to motivate all students to participate and express not only well-formulated and expected answers but also diverse responses and half-formed ideas in progress. Visible attempts to listen to different views can help to make a safe space for all students to speak and be heard.

5  Create an atmosphere of openness for discussing biases

Rather than denying unconscious bias, educators can create spaces to openly discuss them with each other and with students, and to gain a sense of the students’ own biases. This can be challenging, but such intentional activities can contribute to a more inclusive culture across the university.


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