The Effect Of Scoring Rubric For Testees On Writing Performance

This dissertation investigates the effect of scoring rubric designed for testees and embedded in the writing item on test takers' writing performance. As one of the characteristics of test task, the scoring rubric for testees (SRT) also influences language test performance according to the schema by Bachman. The rubric influences language test performance indirectly through effecting on the characteristics of test takers, especially the affective schemata, which is proved by one of the findings of this study that only test takers of certain range of Language proficiency can be affected positively by the SRT.To find out how the SRT effects on writing performance, the author carries experiments among parallel groups of students. The experimental groups of students are asked to finish a writing task with SRT, which emphasizes four aspects of writing: complicate sentence structures, cohesive devices, words of low frequency and detail description; while the control group is asked to finish the same type of writing task without the rubric. Both quantitative and qualitative methods are used. The compositions of the two parallel groups are analyzed based on the four aspects of the writing to find whether there are any significant differences between the two groups concerning the usage of the fours writing aspects. Besides, interview is also carried out among students of experimental groups to collect qualitative data to find how the rubric effects on students writing process, especially their affective schemata.Two experiments are carried out, the second of which is conducted with more strict controlling measures. The first experiment (El) is conducted among two parallel groups of first grade students in Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. There are 88 students in the experimental group and 90 students in the control group of El. Both groups are divided into three teams according to their English proficiency which is decided by an English test: high English proficiency team, middle English proficiency team and low English proficiency team. The compositions collected in El are analyzed on the first three aspects of writing: complicate sentence structures, cohesive devices and words of low frequency. While detailed description is not included in the process of data analyzing because of the difficulty in operating. SPSS 13.0 is used to find whether there is any significant difference between the two parallel teams of different language proficiency concerning the degree of how the test takers meet the requirement of the SRT. The software of wordsmith and EXCELL play an important role in analyzing the data.The second experiment (E2) with more strict controlling measures, such as oral explaining the SRT, is carried out among two parallel groups of grade two middle school students in Fujian Quangang NO.1 Middle School. There are 32 students in experimental group and 32 in control group. After students finish the English test and the writing task designed specific for them, six students in the experimental group are asked to be interviewed to collect qualitative data on the effect of SRT. Same methods of data processing are used to analyze the data collected from the test, which is categorized and patterned to find how the SRT effects on the process of writing.It is found that the scoring rubric has positive effect on students of middle English proficiency in El concerning the usage of complicate sentence structures and words of low frequency and on the middle school students of grade two concerning the usage of words of low frequency.With the findings of the study, SRT embedded in the writing item is beneficial for students to improve their compositions. It can also play an important role in language teaching to help students overcome some weak stereotypes in writing by enhancing their consciousness of the temporal weakness of writing skills.