Black university students’ lived connections between classroom assessment and motivation

• 20 Black college students describe the connection between assessment and motivation. • The reality of being Black permeated all experiences. • Students felt personal and social pressure to excel in assessment and persist. • Vague assessment criteria were perceived as having more space for racism and bias. • Students took assessment very seriously and were motivated to achieve. Most school systems involve an implicit connection between classroom assessment and student motivation. How visible minority students, particularly students who are Black, experience this connection given the historical and ongoing racism associated with assessment practices, is unknown. This study aimed to understand how Black students in North American post-secondary settings experience assessment and its association with motivation. Using an interpretive phenomenological analysis, we conducted focus groups with 20 Black students with various cultural backgrounds to discern connections between assessment and motivation in the North American context. We identified three overarching themes that described how participants connect assessment with motivation: the reality of being Black; a combined desire and need to excel; and nuances of the assessment and environment. The examples participants shared align with much of the existing literature documenting the tension between experiences of anti-black racism and individual and familial expectations for success, that create importance around assessment and sustain motivation. We discuss the results in light of the attitude-achievement paradox and provide recommendations for instructors regarding the assessment climate.