Determining the Passing Score as A Strategy to Achieve Justice in Assessment: A Review Study

Abstract

Background: One of the challenging issues in education is establishing fairness in student evaluation. Determining a fixed passing score for all tests without considering the specific characteristics of each test and test taker is unfair. The passing standard for each test should be determined based on factors such as the level of difficulty of the test, the ability of the students, the learning environment, and educational goals to establish fairness. This study was conducted to provide solutions for accurately determining the passing score threshold and improving the quality of tests. It is expected that the results of this study can help test administrators and university faculty members to improve the evaluation process and take an influential step toward establishing educational fairness. Methods: This study was a narrative review and systematic search. Published Persian and English articles were searched in databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and SID using keywords including standard setting, passing score, minimum pass level, and cut point. Finally, 37 studies were included in the study based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Findings: The articles included in the study described 16 methods for determining the passing score. These were broadly divided into four categories: test-centered, examinee-centered, performance-centered, and outcome-centered. Conclusion: To improve the quality of their exams, universities should monitor this process by utilizing experts in the evaluation and using mixed methods or item mapping as a standard approach to achieving fairness in assessments. © 2025 Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved.