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Bias in assessment: name, reframe, and check in
Author(s) -
Fainstad Tyra L.,
McClintock Adelaide H.,
Yarris Lalena M.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the clinical teacher
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.354
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1743-498X
pISSN - 1743-4971
DOI - 10.1111/tct.13351
Subject(s) - cognitive reframing , subjectivity , cognitive bias , psychology , cognition , cognitive psychology , affect (linguistics) , process (computing) , social psychology , applied psychology , computer science , epistemology , philosophy , communication , neuroscience , operating system
Cognitive bias permeates almost every learner assessment in medical education. Assessment bias has the potential to affect a learner's education, future career and sense of self‐worth. Decades of data show that there is little educators can do to overcome bias in learner assessments. Using in‐group favouritism as an example, we offer an evidence‐based, three‐step solution to understand and move forward with cognitive bias in assessment: (1) Name: a simple admission about the presence of inherent bias in assessment, (2) Reframe: a rephrasing of assessment language to shed light on the assessor's subjectivity and (3) Check‐in: a chance to ensure learner understanding and open lines of bidirectional communication. This process is theory‐informed and based on decades of educational, sociological and psychological literature; we offer it as a logical first step towards a much‐needed paradigm shift towards addressing bias in learner assessment.