ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an ethical perspective that can be used in the development of an assessment ethic and assessment principles. The perspective from the world of moral philosophy is one in which an ethic or ethical knowledge can develop and be used to morally justify behaviors and institutions. An ethics-based approach to professions can offer ways to think about general abstract questions such as "How ought I to practice my profession?" In this approach, the flow of ideas therefore would be from ethics to principles of fairness and justice. Ideas from ethics influence the framing of the principles of fairness and justice so that claims articulated by assessment agencies can be based on ethical considerations rather than purely economic or political considerations. In assessment institutions, the original position and the veil of ignorance could be used in assessment development: imagine an assessment developer with a team of designers, writers, and others who do not know about each other's backgrounds.
