Carver refers to the work of McAfee, Leong, and Bodrova (2004) stating that effective assessments are sound, sensitive, and systematic.
Sensitive assessments align the developmental characteristics of learners to their learning contexts (e.g., younger students require more careful wording and visual cues). Sensitive assessments also take into account individual differences, including culture and gender effects, which can enhance both the internal validity of the assessment and its generalizability.