When clinicians develop tools to conduct formative and summative assessments of student work throughout the course there are many factors that are taken into consideration. For example, consideration must be given to evaluating both the seminar and skills components of the course. How do personal biases and preferences determine the weight given to various assessment factors? How do clinicians determine the weight given to each factor? Does the clinician modify weighted percentages based on one significant clinical experience or on accumulated experiences? Does student preference for work to be performed influence the emphasis placed on various parts of the clinical experience? When do clinician biases determine the outcome of the student clinical experience? For those who select their students, do preferences or biases influence the selection process?
Differing experiences, academic interests and other factors may result in our emphasizing one or two factors to the detriment of others when assessing student performance.
For example, professionalism might take priority over proficiency in skills development because of the clinician’s goal in producing attorneys who are civil as well as ethical. For another clinician, the most important assessment factor might be student empathy development as part of the interviewing process. For yet another, developing a holistic approach to cases might be considered one of the most significant skills within the clinical experience.
How often do we recognize, let alone consider, our biases and preferences in assessing students? This interactive session will identify and define assessment biases, techniques for recognizing preferences and biases as well as suggested methods that can assist in adjusting for preference bias when assessing student performance.