Exploring the Relationship Between Essay Features and Rating Quality

• In Event: 56.082 - Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: 56.082-3 - Current Issues in School-Based Assessment

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between linguistic features of essays, such as syntactic complexity, and the quality of ratings in the context of writing assessments. These relationships are explored within a sample of students whose first language is English (n = 130), and a sample of students who are English language learners (n = 132). Essays composed by each group were analyzed using the Coh-Metrix Text Easability Assessor. Then, correlation analyses were used to explore the relationship between essay features and indices of rating quality based on the Rasch Partial Credit model. Preliminary findings suggest correspondence between essay features and indicators of model-data fit for essays, as well as differences in patterns of correspondence across the two language groups.

Authors

• Stefanie Anne Wind, The University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa

• Catanya Stager, The University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa