Peer Assessment Fairness Instrument (PAFI)

The purpose of this instrument is to measure students’ perceptions of fairness in peer assessment contexts. Groupwork is a crucial aspect of work contexts and a key twenty first century skill. Assessment of groupwork provides a persistent challenge for educators in university contexts with students reporting experiences of unfairness from their peers during groupwork. This study developed a novel Peer Assessment Fairness Instrument to explore factors driving students’ perceptions of fairness during groupwork processes. The results showed that students perceived fairness of groupwork in relation to (1) the grading outcomes they received (i.e. grade congruence), (2) the procedures based on which groups contributed to groupwork (i.e. performative group dynamics), and (3) the relationships based on which group members interacted (i.e. interpersonal treatment). The findings provide student-driven directions to promoting fairer peer assessments within groupwork contexts.

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Supplemental Information:

n/a

Assessment Type:

Inventory/Questionnaire

Scale:

Likert 5-point scale

Publication Date:

Jun 09, 2025

Respondent:

Domain(s) Evaluated:

Attitude / Behavior

Sample items:

My group members were empathetic and supportive, My group members didn't exploit me

Reliability:

internal consistency: The coefficient alpha for each dimension was 0.78, 0.95, and 0.94. Given that the first dimension had only two items, the omega reliability index was calculated for dimension 2 (0.96) and 3 (0.95).

Validity:

No validity indicated.

Frequency:

Rarely

Administration time:

0 minutes

Requires a Computer:

Yes

Requires Internet Access:

Primary reference:

Rasooli, A., Turner, J., Varga-Atkins, T., Pitt, E., Asgari, S., & Moindrot, W. (2024). Students’ perceptions of fairness in groupwork assessment: validity evidence for peer assessment fairness instrument. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 50(1), 111–126. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2024.2354510

Comments:

Exploratory Factor Analysis: Parallel analysis results suggested three factors with eigenvalues (13.23, 0.89, 0.67) higher than simulated factors (0.83, 0.50, 0.42). The fourth factor showed an eigenvalue (0.26) less than the simulated factor (0.37). Exploratory factor analysis was then run with three factors using Maximum Likelihood method with oblimin rotation to interpret factor solutions. The choice of oblimin was motivated to allow intercorrelation between factors. Overall, three factors explained 70% of the variance in the data. Inter-factor correlations showed that Grade congruence had r = 0.34 linkage with Performative group dynamics, and r = 0.25 with Interpersonal treatment. Performative group dynamics demonstrated r = 0.69 with Interpersonal treatment.

STEM Criteria

Science

Yes

Technology

Yes

Engineering

Yes

Math

Yes

Contact

Turner, Jim, Liverpool John Moores University, Teaching and Learning Academy, Exchange Station. Tithebarn Street, Liverpool, L2 2QP, United Kingdom, j.c.turner@ljmu.ac.uk