The same L2 speaking performance may be analysed and evaluated in very different ways by different teachers or raters. We present a new, technology-assisted research design which opens up to investigation the trajectories of convergence and divergence between raters. We tracked and recorded what different raters noticed when, whilst grading a…

The literature on using scoring rubrics in writing assessment denotes the significance of rubrics as practical and useful means to assess the quality of writing tasks. This study tries to investigate the agreement among rubrics endorsed and used for assessing the essay writing tasks by the internationally recognized tests of English language…

Rater subjectivity has long been an intriguing topic. The use of discussion as a resolution method is a practical way to reduce this subjectivity. However, the efficacy of discussion depends on whether different raters get equally engaged in it or one rater tends to dominate others. This study investigated whether and how rater dominance occurs in…

Threats to construct validity should be reduced to a minimum. If true, sources of bias, namely raters, items, tests as well as gender, age, race, language background, culture, and socio-economic status need to be spotted and removed. This study investigates raters' experience, language background, and the choice of essay prompt as potential…

The present study sought to investigate the effects of Summary Writing (SW), Picture Writing (PW), and Topic Writing (TW) tasks on the accuracy and complexity of Iranian intermediate EFL learners' writing performance. To this end, of 61 students majoring English Literature in Golestan University, Gorgan, Iran, 43 (10 males, 33 females) of them…

Results of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) battery trials in Australia are reported. The IELTS tests of productive language skills use direct assessment strategies and subjective scoring according to detailed guidelines. The receptive skills tests use indirect assessment strategies and clerical scoring procedures.…