Knowledge acquisition assessment by experts: Effects and models of the cognitive functioning of evaluators

When assessment of knowledge acquisition is done by a human expert, the cognitive functioning of the expert is a variable of the assessment. The present article reviews research in experimental psychology that has studied this phenomenon. The main effects of the evaluator’s cognitive functioning on the assessment made, as well as the models that have been proposed to account for them, are discussed. The effects on how student performance modifications are taken into account are then discussed. Lastly, a few paradoxes concerning the applications of research findings in this field are brought up.