Teacher Interpretation of Test Scores and Feedback to Students in EFL Classrooms: A Comparison of Two Rating Methods

Abstract

Rating scales have been used as a major assessment instrument to measure language performance on oral tasks. The present research concerned, under the same rating criteria, how far teachers interpreted students' speaking scores by using two different types of rating method, and how far students could benefit from the feedback of the description of the two rating methods. Fifteen English teachers and 300 college students in Taiwan participated in the study. Under the same rating criteria, the two types of rating method, one with the level descriptors and the other with a checklist, were used by the teachers to assess an English speaking test. It was discovered that the rating method had a noticeable impact on how teachers judged students' performance and interpreted their scores. The majority of the students considered feedback from the verbally more detailed method more helpful for improving language ability.