Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

10-2025

Abstract

The rise of AI in educational assessments has significantly enhanced efficiency and accuracy. However, it also introduces critical ethical challenges, including bias in grading, data privacy risks, and accountability gaps. These issues can undermine trust in AI-driven assessments and compromise educational fairness, making a structured ethical framework essential. To address these challenges, this study empirically validates an existing triadic ethical framework for AI-assisted educational assessments, originally proposed by Lim, Gottipati and Cheong (In: Keengwe (ed) Creative AI tools and ethical implications in teaching and learning, IGI Global, 2023), grounded in student perceptions. The framework encompasses three ethical domains—physical, cognitive, and informational—which intersect with five key assessment pipeline stages: system design, data stewardship, assessment construction, administration, and grading. By structuring AI-driven assessments within this ethical framework, the study systematically maps key concerns, including fairness, accountability, privacy, and academic integrity. To validate the proposed framework, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to examine its relevance and alignment with learners' ethical concerns. Specifically, the study aims to (1) evaluate how well the triadic framework aligns with learners' perceptions of ethical issues using SEM analysis, and (2) examine relationships among the assessment pipeline stages, ethical considerations, pedagogical outcomes, and learner experiences. Findings reveal robust connections between AI-assisted assessment stages, ethical concerns, and learners' perspectives. By bridging theoretical validation with practical insights, this study emphasizes actionable strategies to support the development of AI-driven assessment systems that balance technological efficiency, pedagogical effectiveness, and ethical responsibility.

Keywords

AI ethics, Educational assessments, Structural equation modelling, Learner perceptions, Ethical framework

Discipline

Artificial Intelligence and Robotics | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research

Research Areas

Intelligent Systems and Optimization

Areas of Excellence

Digital transformation

Publication

International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education

Volume

22

Issue

1

First Page

1

Last Page

32

ISSN

2365-9440

Identifier

10.1186/s41239-025-00556-8

Publisher

SpringerOpen

Copyright Owner and License

Authors-CC-BY

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-025-00556-8

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