Whose Standards? Examining Power, Fairness, and Voice in Pre-Service Teachers’ Conceptions of Assessment

Abstract

This study examined how pre-service teachers in a CHED-aligned Philippine teacher education program understand fairness, power, and voice in assessment, and how these conceptions evolve through critical pedagogy-informed interventions. Anchored in Critical Action Research and guided by Freirean and Critical Assessment Literacy (CAL) framework, the study engaged 50 participants in the foundational course Assessment of Learning 1, integrating co-rubric design, peer feedback, and dialogic reflections alongside technical assessment tasks. Data were collected through semi-structured journal entries, focus group dialogues, praxis portfolios, and researcher reflections, and analyzed using Critical Thematic Analysis. Findings revealed that initial conceptions of fairness were largely procedural, power was unexamined, and student voice was peripheral. Through iterative interventions, participants reconceptualized fairness as equity, reframed power as reflective stewardship, and embraced student voice as essential to ethical assessment. These shifts, evident in 55–65% of post-course codes, demonstrated that technical competence alone is insufficient for transformative Teacher Assessment Literacy; ethical reflection and dialogic engagement are critical for developing Critical Assessment Literacy (CAL). The study offers a contextually grounded model for integrating technical, ethical, dialogic, and transformative literacies, highlighting the potential for pre-service programs to foster equity-centered, culturally responsive assessment practices in postcolonial Philippine classrooms.