Wavering Trust in Public Examinations: Stakeholder Perceptions of Validity and Fairness During the COVID-19 Pandemic

• In Event: Advocating for Equity in 21st Century Education

Abstract

Adverse and exacerbated educational and social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic raise critical issues regarding the score-based interpretation of high stakes public examinations and justification of their continued use for placement and certification in the Caribbean. Validity, fairness and usability are vital to judgements, inferences and actions based on test scores. Perceptions about test quality impact stakeholders’ trust in and perceived legitimacy of examinations. This qualitatively driven, convergent mixed methods study purposed online surveys and interviews with families to capture Trinidad and Tobago stakeholders’ experiences and perspectives on current usefulness and justness of Caribbean examinations. Results highlight naïve but insightful understandings of assessment constructs, and apprehension over test quality influencing perceptions of trust.

Authors

• Nalini Ramsawak-Jodha, University of the West Indies - St. Augustine

• Tracey Michelle Lucas, The University of the West Indies

• Jerome De Lisle, University of the West Indies - St. Augustine

• Carla Melissa Kronberg, University of the West Indies - St. Augustine

• Nicola Mark-Worrell, Ministry of Education

• Vivian Gregory Alexander, Purdue University

• Nirmala Ramnarine, Ministry of Education - Trinidad and Tobago

• Murella Sambucharan-Mohammed, The University of the West Indies - St. Augustine