Perceived Injustice in Classroom Assessment: Students’ Lived Experiences

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Educational Sciences, Farhangian University, P.O. Box 14665-889, Tehran, Iran

2 Ph.D. in Measurement & Assessment, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

The present study aimed to explore students' lived experiences of perceived unfairness in the classroom assessment process. This study adopted a qualitative approach using descriptive phenomenology. The participants consisted of 23 secondary school students who were selected through purposive sampling with maximum variation. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews, which continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. The data were analyzed using Colaizzi's seven-step phenomenological analysis method. The findings revealed that students' perceptions of unfairness in classroom assessment were organized into four main themes—teacher-related unfairness, grading and evaluation criteria, assessment procedures, and assessment implementation conditions—and nine subthemes. According to the participants' experiences, unfairness emerges when educational judgments fail to accurately reflect students' actual competence and are instead influenced by harmful teacher behaviors, irrelevant evaluation criteria, ambiguity in grading practices, or unequal access to learning opportunities and assessment-related information. The findings indicate that fairness in classroom assessment extends beyond assessment outcomes and is fundamentally reflected in the quality of teacher–student interactions, the transparency of evaluation criteria, the alignment between instruction and assessment, and the equitable distribution of learning opportunities. Therefore, enhancing teachers' assessment literacy and incorporating students' voices into assessment practices may contribute to reducing perceptions of unfairness and strengthening students' trust in the assessment process.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Strategic Research on Social Problems

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 25 July 2026

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History

  • Receive Date: 15 February 2026
  • Revise Date: 16 July 2026
  • Accept Date: 25 July 2026
  • Publish Date: 25 July 2026

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