Читать книгу The Concise Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics - Carol A. Chapelle - Страница 166

One way to think about types of writing assessments is as a continuum from least to most authentic, in terms of the degree to which they simulate real‐world writing conditions. At one end of the continuum we can make a distinction between an indirect test of writing and a direct test. An indirect test attempts to measure the subskills involved in writing (particularly grammar and usage) via multiple choice or other selected response measures. Such measures were prevalent in the USA in the 1970s and 1980s (White, 1994). A direct test of writing requires the examinee to produce a continuous piece of prose in response to a set of instructions, and has the following additional characteristics (Hamp‐Lyons, 1991): responses are ordinarily at least 100 words; the instructions, or prompt, provides direction but allows the candidate considerable leeway in responding; each response is read by at least one (preferably two) trained raters using a common scale; and the result is a number rather than (or in addition to) a verbal description of the writing. Typical writing tests are also conducted under timed conditions and the topic is frequently, if not usually, unknown to the candidates in advance (Weigle, 2002).

On the other end of the continuum of authenticity is portfolio assessment, which allows writing to be assessed over time and over a range of writing tasks and genres. A portfolio can be defined as “a purposeful collection of student works that exhibits to the student (and/or others) the student's effort, progress, or achievement in a given area” (Northwest Evaluation Association, 1991, p. 4, cited in Wolcott, 1998). While portfolios have been implemented successfully in large‐scale writing, portfolio assessment may be more feasible as a classroom assessment tool (Hamp‐Lyons & Condon, 2000; Weigle, 2002, chap. 9).

In between the extremes of an indirect test of writing and a collection of texts written for specific purposes is a variety of different task types. The impromptu timed essay based on a prompt is the most common writing assessment task, particularly for academic purposes, but by no means the only one. Impromptu writing tasks can take the form of different genres, such as letters, memoranda, or written instructions. Writing can be integrated with listening, reading, or both listening and reading in tasks that require examinees to summarize or otherwise incorporate source material from a reading or listening passage into their writing. Finally, stages of the writing process can be isolated and assessed in tasks such as writing an outline (pre‐writing) or editing a paragraph or essay (revision).