Assessing Writing

91.12.04

by Cristina, Crystal, David, Rachel, Roy

I. Principles for assessing writingII. Existing writing assessment methodsIII. Comparison of traditional and alternative assessment IV. Sample elicitation and evaluationV. References

Principles

• Reliability• Give writing assignments before real tests• Avoid unclear or too difficult instructions• Give instructions as specific as possible• Validity• Testing only writing ability, and nothing else• Set as many tasks as is feasible• Ensure samples long enough • Practicality--ensure ease of access (online writing)• Positive washback--give authentic writing tasks• Scoring• Holistic scoring• Analytic scoring

Holistic Scoring

NS Native speaker standard

NS- Close to native speaker standard

MA Clearly more than adequate

MA- Possibly more than adequate

A Adequate for study at this university

D Doubtful

NA Clearly not adequate

FBA Far below adequacy

Existing writing assessment methods

Traditional

1.Grammar and structure

2.Control Writing

3.Free Writing

Alternatives

1.Diary (日記 )2.Online discussion boa

rd3.Dictocomps4.Think-aloud writing5.Portfolio6.Peer evaluation

Traditional

     I. Grammar and structure

a. Multiple-choice items b. Error-recognition items c. Re-arrangement d. Changing words e. Blank-filling

Error-recognition

a. choose the underlined words or phrases which are incorrect.

e.g. 1. It was a terrible accident at an air show in west a b c d

Germany yesterday.

2. One of the aircraft was crashed into two other

a b c

aircraft during the display. etc

d

Error-recognition

b.students are told that there is a mistake in grammar in each sentence and instructed to write the letter of that part of the sentence in which it occurs.

e.g. 1. It was/ a terrible accident/ at an air show /

a b c

yesterday.

d

2. One of the aircraft/ was crashed into/ two other

a b c

aircraft /during the display. etc

d

Re-arrangement

e.g. 1.She was wearing a ……………………….

new/ jacket/ leather/ red / lovely

2.Susan ………………………………………

the phone/ when already/ rang / suddenly/

finished/ had

e.g. I said if I (1) to discover the fire earlier,I (2) to succeed in (3)to extinguish it before it (4)to catch hold.

etc.

• (1)________________• (2)________________• (3)________________• (4)________________

Changing words

Traditional

     I. Grammar and structure

a. Multiple-choice items b. Error-recognition items c. Re-arrangement d. Changing words e. Blank-filling

Traditional

• II. Control Writing

• a.      Transformation

• b.      Broken sentences

• c.      Sentence and paragraph completion

• d.      Notes

• e.      Summary writing

• f. Chinese-English translation

Transformation

• Suitable for intermediate and advanced tests than elementary tests.

a. re-writing sentences according to certain

patterns

e.g. 1.No other living plant grows so tall and fast as bamboo.

Bamboo ______________________.

2.A stalk at Japan ‘s commonest bamboo has grown over a meter in only 24 hours.

It has taken_____________________.

etc.

Transformation

• b. giving them a word in brackets and use

the word to rewrite the sentence.

1. It is necessary to answer all the questions.(need)

_______________________________________

2. His angry out burst was completely unexpected.(took)

_______________________________________

**weakness: lack of context.

Broken sentences

Dear Cindy,Thanks/ lot/ your letter/ which/ arrive/ yesterday.1._________________________________________________Congratulations/ pass/ your entrance exams.2._________________________________________________You/ work/ very/ hard/ past/year/ but/now/ it/ all/be worthwhile3._________________________________________________I wonder/ if / you/ like/ stay/ me/ few days.4._________________________________________________I look forward/ hear/you/ very soon.5._________________________________________________Best wishes

Cathy.

Sentence and paragraph completion

a. Most of the students in my class were rather lazy and did not enjoy the course. Pauline, however,___________

__________________ __________________ __________________ __________________

b.

A:__________________

B:So do I . I generally watch for an hour or two every morning.

A:__________________

B: Immediately after I’ve finished my homework about eight.

Traditional

• II. Control Writing

• a.      Transformation

• b.      Broken sentences

• c.      Sentence and paragraph completion

• d.      Notes

• e.      Summary writing

• f. Chinese-English translation

Free Writing

• Using Picture for Writing

• Essay Writing• Journal

• Choosing subjects : (Avoid very general abstract topic)

• Realistic writing task : (Think about the likely real life contexts in which your students )

• Writing for purpose• Specific instruction• Clear, simple, and

realistic

Using Picture for Writing

• You may want to use pictures to do any of the following tasks in your test:

• 1.          to describe a scene, object or person• 2.          to compare two scenes, etc.• 3.          to tell a story• 4.          to give instructions or directions• 5.          to describe a process• Notes: 1. Cultural difficulty• 2. AGE

Essay and Journal Writing

  1. The error count method

2. The analytic method

3. The impression (or multiple-marking) method

The Error Count Method

• The error count method involves counting up the number of errors which a student has made…and deducting this number from a possible maximum total

Flaws: 1. Completely ignores content 1. fails to take into account that some

errors are more serious than another

5 4 3 2 1

Fluency OGrammar O O

Vocabulary

Content OSpelling O

The Analytic Method

Comp 1 Comp 2 Comp 3 Comp 4

Marker A 2 1 4 2

Marker B 3 2 5 4

Marker C 3 1 3 1

Total 8 4 12 7

Alternative

• Portfolio:

• Dictocom

• Discussion board

• Think aloud writing

• Peer Evaluation

• Diary

Monday I have an exam today. I did not study…

Tuesday Go swimming!

Wednesday The exam result was better than I thought! I guess I’m just lucky…

Thursday

Friday I went to the see “Harry Potter” with my GF

Saturday

Sunday Visit Uncle Ronny

Comparison Strengths Weaknesses

Traditional

1.With many different kinds of tasks

2.Students practice a lot of similar tasks

and exercise before the real test

3.The objective of the assessment is easy

to be focused on

4.Both holistic scoring and analytic

scoring can apply to traditional

assessment

1. Possibility of negative

washback

Alternative

1.The stress on individual difference and

creativity can stimulate students’

washback more

1.Time consuming

2.Lack of validity

(ex. Dictocomps)

3.Lack of practicality

(ex.Online discussion)

4. Difficulty in scoring

Comparison of Two Assessments Traditional

Alternative

Set as many tasks as is feasible ˇ ˇEnsure samples long enough

Give writing assignments before real tests ˇAvoid unclear or too difficult instructions

Give instructions as specific as possible (restrict test-takers)

Test only writing ability, and nothing else ˇPracticality—ensure ease of access (online writing)

ˇ

Positive washback ˇHolistic scoring ˇAnalytic scoring ˇ

Sample 1

• --Translation

• 中譯英說明：請將以下短文中劃線的五個中文句

子，根據上下文譯成正確、通順、達意的英文。每題四分，共 20 分。

• 1. 你有沒有想過未來的旅館會是什麼樣子？ You need not wonder any longer. A hotel in Japan will give you a preview. The name of this hotel is the Capsule Inn; its rooms rent for eleven dollars a night. 2. 每個房間附有一部收音機，一台電視機和一個鬧鐘。 3. 此外，所有房間都有空調。 But here any resemblance to a twentieth-century hotel ends. The rooms are small plastic capsules, and each capsule is about five feet high, by five feet wide, and by seven feet deep. Guests have to crawl into bed through a large porthole entrance. 4. 廁所及洗衣設施位於旅館的共同區域。 5. 信不信由你，這家旅館經常是客滿， perhaps because the price of the rooms is as small as the rooms themselves.

Sample 1

Strength:

A. Reliability— Students can practice many similar tasks before the real test

B. Validity— Students know what to write from Chinese sentences

Weakness:

Validity– Not only writing process but also concept transference are involved in translation tas

ks

Sample

Portfolio in assessing writing

Portfolio assessment is a cumulative and ongoing collection of entries that are selected and commented on by the students, the teacher and/or peers, to assess the student’s progress in the development of a competency

1. Positive Washback A. Teachers' individual teaching

B. Student’s individual improvement

(1) Writing to learn (2) Writing for self-realization

2. Reliability 3. Validity—possibility of lacking validity

4. Scoring—difficulty in scoring

5. Time consuming

References

• Brown, H. Douglas. Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy. 2nd ed. New York: Longman, 2001.

• Harris, David P. Testing English as a Second Language. USA: McGraw-Hill, 1969.

• Heaton, J. B. Classroom Testing. New York: Longman, 1990.

• Hughes, Arthur. Testing for Language Teachers. New York: Cambridge, 1989.