Implications of anonymous assessment

The role of anonymous assessment in ensuring fair and equitable outcomes for students has been one of the major tenets of educational reform over the last few decades [1]. One of the major goals of these efforts is to reduce the impact of subconscious discriminatory behaviour in assigning grades based on perceptions of ability of gender or minority groups by the examiner. Recently however research has been emerging which challenges the widespread assumptions about the benefits of anonymity drawn from Newstead´s work. Contrary results include the work of Dorsey and Colliver, 1995, in medical education, and Batten et al. 2013, who explore the impact of student reputation on assessment. These and many other studies conclude that anonymous assessment resulted in no apparent changes in assessment outcomes. In this paper we explore the implications of anonymity taking examples from educational settings where student anonymity is already an adopted practice. We discuss the positive and negative implications of student anonymity, and identify areas for future research.