Chronicles the development of holistic evaluation in English testing, defines the term and others associated with it, and suggests the central reasons for its use. Discusses some of the problems and disadvantages of this powerful and generally positive approach to student writing evaluation. (HTH)

Although most portfolio evaluation currently uses some adaptation of holistic scoring, the problems with scoring portfolios holistically are many, much more than for essays, and the problems are not readily resolvable. Indeed, many aspects of holistic scoring work against the principles behind portfolio assessment. We have from the start needed a…

Reflecting the general concern about student writing performance, this book is designed to present recent advances in the theory and practice of assessing writing ability to all teachers of writing, as well as writing examiners and administrators. The book explores (1) reconsidering the links between teaching and assessing writing, (2) the…