One of the major innovations of the "TOEFL iBT"® test is the incorporation of integrated tasks complementing the independent tasks to which examinees respond. In addition, examinees must produce discourse in both modes (speech and writing). The validity argument for the TOEFL iBT includes the claim that examinees vary their discourse in…

The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability of the analytical method of grading essays in relation to the holistic method. It was hypothesized that the use of the analytic method to rate college composition papers produces high rater reliability at the expense of biasing the raters and thus lowering the validity of the grades. Six…

The problem of this study was to find criteria, and a model, for judging written expression at the elementary level which can produce concordance of teacher judgments and be a possible basis for prescriptive teaching. Such a model was developed by the Affton School District. This study attempts to determine its utility. Twenty-four essays were…

A study of 943 personal narratives of students with deafness evaluated the effectiveness of the Six-Trait Analytical Scale in assessing student's writing. The scale was found to be reliable and valid in evaluating written narratives of students with and without hearing losses and is recommended as a valuable diagnostic instrument and instructional…

Information on the Ontario Test of English Achievement is presented. Attention is directed to the background and objectives of the test, test development, subtest characteristics and properties, validity, and recommendations concerning test use. The objective of the test was to determine the language competence of incoming students to assist…