Differences across levels in the language of agency and ability in rating scales for large second-language writing assessments
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Date
2017-12
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Abstract
While large-scale language and writing assessments benefit from a wealth of literature on the
reliability and validity of specific tests and rating procedures, there is comparatively less literature
that explores the specific language of second language writing rubrics. This paper provides an
analysis of the language of performance descriptors for the public versions of the TOEFL and
IELTS writing assessment rubrics, with a focus on linguistic agency encoded by agentive verbs and
language of ability encoded by modal verbs can and cannot. While the IELTS rubrics feature more
agentive verbs than the TOEFL rubrics, both pairs of rubrics feature uneven syntax across the band
or score descriptors with either more agentive verbs for the highest scores, more nominalization for
the lowest scores, or language of ability exclusively in the lowest scores. These patterns mirror
similar patterns in the language of college-level classroom-based writing rubrics, but they differ
from patterns seen in performance descriptors for some large-scale admissions tests. It is argued that
the lack of syntactic congruity across performance descriptors in the IELTS and TOEFL rubrics may
reflect a bias in how actual student performances at different levels are characterized.
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Keywords
rating scales, second language writing, writing assessment, performance descriptors, linguistic agency
Citation
Studia Anglica Posnaniensia, vol. 52.2(2017), pp.147-172