The Assessment of Values in Schools

Schools in liberal democratic societies face a dilemma. On the one hand their role is to prepare students to make rationally autonomous choices, within prescribed limits, as to what kind of good life they will pursue. On the other hand, liberal democratic societies depend on common adherence to liberal democratic values, such as respect for truth, fairness and social justice, and schools need to teach these values. If schools are to include the teaching of such values among their aims, how should they assess them? The assessment of values is problematical for liberal democrats. School educators are willing and able to assess students' knowledge and skills (i.e. what students know and can do) but to assess their values implies that students are being assessed for what they are and this offends against a deeply ingrained belief that all persons in a liberal democracy have an intrinsic worth. This article will explore the problem of the assessment of values with particular reference to schooling in Australia.