One, Two, ... , Many : The Outcomes of Paired Peer Assessment, Group Peer Assessment, and Teacher Assessment in EFL Writing

Abstract

The learning potential of pair/team work in language assessment has been demonstrated in the literature, albeit with little concern about challenges faced by the educators to implement it. To contribute to this line of research, the present study aimed to investigate the impact of paired peer assessment, teacher feedback, and group peer assessment on students’ writing performance. To do so, 69 second-year university students of the English language were assigned to three classes. The first class received regular teacher feedback, the second class was instructed to work in pairs and assess each other’s work, and students in the third class were divided into groups of four members and a group leader was assigned to each group by the teacher. Team leaders’ responsibility was assessing and providing feedback on their fellow members’ writing samples. The results showed a growth in the performance of students in paired peer assessment class in comparison to the other two classes. In group peer assessment class, the group heads outperformed their peers but the overall performance of the class was lower than paired peer assessment class. The findings suggest careful consideration of the circumstances under which peer assessment can be employed and call for more research on the contribution of non-pedagogical factors to assessment designs.