School of Languages and Linguistics - Research Publications
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ItemDiagnostic assessment of writing: A comparison of two rating scales(SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD, 2009-04)Alderson (2005) suggests that diagnostic tests should identify strengths and weaknesses in learners' use of language and focus on specific elements rather than global abilities. However, rating scales used in performance assessment have been repeatedly criticized for being imprecise and therefore often resulting in holistic marking by raters (Weigle, 2002). The aim of this study is to compare two rating scales for writing in an EAP context; one `a priori' developed scale with less specific descriptors of the kind commonly used in proficiency tests and one empirically developed scale with detailed level descriptors. The validation process involved 10 trained raters applying both sets of descriptors to the rating of 100 writing scripts yielded from a large-scale diagnostic assessment administered to both native and non-native speakers of English at a large university. A quantitative comparison of rater behaviour was undertaken using FACETS. Questionnaires and interviews were administered to elicit the raters' perceptions of the efficacy of the two types of scales. The results indicate that rater reliability was substantially higher and that raters were able to better distinguish between different aspects of writing when the more detailed descriptors were used. Rater feedback also showed a preference for the more detailed scale. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for rater training and rating scale development.
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ItemMissing Afrikaans: 'Linguistic longing' among Afrikaans-speaking immigrants in New Zealand(Informa UK Limited, 2005-12-01)
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ItemNo Preview AvailableEvaluating rater responses to an online training program for L2 writing assessment(SAGE Publications, 2007-01-01)The use of online rater self-training is growing in popularity and has obvious practical benefits, facilitating access to training materials and rating samples and allowing raters to reorient themselves to the rating scale and self monitor their behaviour at their own convenience. However there has thus far been little research into rater attitudes to training via this modality and its effectiveness in enhancing levels of inter- and intra-rater agreement. The current study explores these issues in relation to an analytically-scored academic writing task designed to diagnose undergraduates’ English learning needs. 8 ESL raters scored a number of pre-rated benchmark writing samples online and received immediate feedback in the form of a discrepancy score indicating the gap between their own rating of the various categories of the rating scale and the official ratings assigned to the benchmark writing samples. A batch of writing samples was rated twice (before and after participating in the online training) by each rater and Multifaceted Rasch analyses were used to compare levels of rater agreement and rater bias (on each analytic rating category). Raters’ views regarding the effectiveness of the training were also canvassed. While findings revealed limited overall gains in reliability, there was considerable individual variation in receptiveness to the training input. The paper concludes with suggestions for refining the online training program and for further research into factors influencing rater responsiveness.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableIndividual Feedback to Enhance Rater Training: Does It Work?(Informa UK Limited, 2005-10)