چكيده فارسي :
Fairness, as a component of ethics, is a perennial ideal which has recently attracted the attention of researchers in classroom assessment (CA). Despite the existing body of research on classroom fairness, there is a dearth of research on factors influencing teachers’ fair decisions in language classroom assessment. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the factors facilitating or constraining teachers’ fair practice in classroom assessment. The data were collected from 18 English language teachers (8 males, 10 females) from the University of Tehran Language Center through semistructured interviews. The interviews were transcribed and then thematically and inductively analyzed to identify the factors involved in how teachers approach CA fairness in their classrooms. The findings indicated that there were two sets of factors influencing teachers’ fair behavior: factors internal to the classroom and factors external to the classroom. Factors internal to the classroom included student ability, student behavior, grade level, and the availability of assessment materials. Factors external to the classroom included administrative support, workload, institute personnel behavior, and time constraints. This study informs teachers and teacher trainers of the factors that influence CA fairness which might in turn increase the quality of learning in an English class
