Use of Rubrics in Assessing Second Language Writing

Use of Rubrics in Assessing Second Language Writing

Introduction

In the field of education, many tools have been used to define assessment criterion for students and rubric is one of the highly admired scoring tools that assist teachers to appropriately reflect the achievements of students. Rubric has been used as a tool to evaluate a variety of linguistic and discourse features in second language writing. However, the use of right rubric scoring to assess second language writing has been an alarming concern in the literature studies.

Problem Statement

In the educational system, class room and examination performance of a student has generally based on the judgment of trainers, teachers and experts. The writing measurement generally required the assignment of a score that has been assumed to reflect the underlying ability to be measured, relative to descriptors that are being included in the scoring rubrics (Becker, 2011).

Since the performance of foreign students has been highly dependent on their ability to write, there is a great need to establish an effective rubric scoring that can be used to assess and reflect the quality of student writing. There are three main types of rubric that have been used to assess the foreign writing skills and abilities of students; however, there is a need to recognize the significance of rubrics to achieve thriving style of academic writing (Becker, 2011).

Thesis Statement

Scoring rubrics are useful in assessing the second language writing, and it is an effective scoring tool to indicate students' achievements.

Purpose of Study

The purpose of the study will be to design an exploratory study as well as a descriptive study with prime focus on the various rubric styles that can be used as an assessment tool to evaluate second language writing. The study will also outline the merits and demerits of these rubrics from the perspective of teachers and students.

Research Questions

Is rubric useful in assessing the second language writing?

How many types of Rubric are available to assess the second language writing?

What are the problems faced by teachers in developing effective rubrics to assess second language writing?

What are the strategies that can be followed by the teachers to design effective rubrics to assess second language writing?

Hypothesis

Ho: Rubrics are effective in assessing the second language writing

H1: Rubrics are not effective in assessing the second language writing

Literature Review

In the academic evaluation system to measure and test the writing skills of students, performance based assessment has been one of the most common practices used to analyze the writing skills of test takers. There have been various assessment and scoring methodologies used by teachers and trainers to mark a student's proficiency in writing (Becker, 2011).

Scoring rubric is one of the typical approaches that have been used to score PBAs. The use of the rubric in assessing second language writing can help to evaluate the extent to which a student has earned mastery of basic aspects of standard writing. There are three basic types of rubric that are comprised of holistic, analytic and primary trait scoring methods of assessing ...