Measuring student writing skills can be done holistically, by ranking compositions without enumerating their linguistic, rhetorical, or information features, or atomistically, by viewing compositions as collections of these features. A variety of holistic approaches, including primary score testing, exist. Though their reliability has been…

A discussion of the use of standardized tests in second language assessment focuses on the usefulness of program-based language tests aligned with specific curricula and capable of motivating students to participate in classroom activities that are a preparation both for the test and for life after the test. The purpose of this paper is to show…