Introducing Second Language Assessment

In Chapter 11, the author takes readers through the process of creating and using holistic and analytic rating scales for performance assessments. The author uses an example of an assessment that a team of language teachers created for measuring the abilities of young Saudi learners who were learning English as a second language in the United States. The author discusses multiple approaches to creating rating scales, including adapting existing scales, patterning scales after course standards, a theory-based approach where developers use language and assessment theory to create scales, and a performance-driven approach where developers use test taker language samples to identify distinguishing characteristics among test taker abilities. The author discusses three sample writing performances of the young Saudi learners and shows how the teachers used them to create the scales. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the process of creating and using computer scoring systems for performance assessments.