Assessments in diverse classrooms may take on the ethos of an inclusive classroom; that is practices like oral exams or formative assessments in the form of "think-alouds" to understand how students think about the task at hand. Enabling students to articulate through their own thought processes implicitly places the student in a position of competence.
In addition students who encounter stereotype threat regarding their gender race or socioeconomic circumstances may experience higher negative emotions and decrease learning and test performance. A formative assessment where teachers place trust in students to exercise knowledge competently may reduce those negative emotions.