Which biases are listed as evaluation errors?

• A. Grading Bias Only
• B. Grading Bias and Testing Bias
• C. Testing Bias Only
• D. Neither Bias

Answer: (B)

Evaluation errors in assessments can come from two sources: how you grade and how the test is designed. Grading bias happens when the person scoring a response lets non-performance factors influence the score, such as personal expectations, inconsistent rubrics, or overly harsh or lenient grading. Testing bias arises when the test itself contains flaws—ambiguous wording, culturally unfamiliar references, language complexity, or item formats that advantage one group over another. Both kinds of bias can distort results and make the evaluation fail to accurately reflect what a student truly knows or can do. That’s why the listed evaluation biases include both grading bias and testing bias—the combination covers the main ways evaluations can go off course. If you focus on only one, you miss the other common source of error; and ignoring bias altogether would leave you blind to why an assessment might mislead.