Unintended consequences – Risk for bias in competency-based assessment

Abstract

As nursing education transitions to competency-based education, careful attention to the assessment methodology must be considered. As nursing education contends with structural implicit bias and supports social justice, any transition to the education delivery model must consider the underserved and marginalized. Multilingual and marginalized students have long had inequitable experiences when taking standardized assessments influenced by the perspectives and values of the dominant culture. Resourced and under-resourced nurse educators must be empowered to access information to inform the competency-based assessment design. This perspective article aims to uncover the risk of bias in competency-based assessment when not properly implemented and to present strategies to reduce bias in competency-based assessment. Considerations for schools/colleges of nursing as they implement competency-based assessment are explored.