ABSTRACT
In this talk, Sharon Murphy discusses how assessment, ethics, and conceptualizations of literacy are brought into dialogue. Specifically, a broad-based view of assessment is offered based on values, judgment, and design. This view of assessment is coupled with an ethical stance towards the conduct of assessment which draws upon feminist philosophy and is anchored in the conceptualization of epistemic responsibility – of knowing well and doing well with what we know. This framework is used to consider two very different kinds of assessment practices: those embedded within examples of New Literacy Studies and those embedded within the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). For New Literacy Studies examples, the question framing the discussion is whether assessment is possible within the New Literacy Studies perspective. For the PISA examples, which offer the ultimate in assessment that neutralizes context, the discussion is framed around what kind of knowing is created by PISA and the ethicality of making decisions based on that knowing.
