Analysis of Raters’ Scoring Behaviours in the Assessment of Writing

Abstract

This study aims to obtain descriptive data on the scoring behaviours of foreign language teachers in the assessment of writing. In this case study, data related to the demographic characteristics of the teachers, the score they gave and the discourse describing their scoring process were obtained with the help of an interview form through the semi-structured interview technique. At the end of the descriptive analysis of data, it was revealed that the scoring behaviours of the teachers varied greatly, that most of the teachers did not use a scale during scoring, that the teachers who used a scale developed various scales with different sections and points, which indicates that teachers are indecisive, and that teachers mostly focused on the formal-grammatical- dimension of the written product. The study also revealed that there was a significant relation between the scores of the raters and their gender, between their scores and their institution. 
 Keywords: foreign language teaching, writing assessment, scoring, raters