Validating Analytic Rating Scales: A Multi-method Approach to Scaling Descriptors for Assessing Academic Speaking

This book presents a unique inter-university scale development project, with a focus on the validation of two new rating scales for the assessment of academic presentations and interactions. The use of rating scales for performance assessment has increased considerably in educational contexts, but the empirical research to investigate the effectiveness of such scales is scarce. The author reports on a multi-method study designed to scale the level descriptors on the basis of expert judgments and performance data. The salient characteristics of the scale levels offer a specification of academic speaking, adding concrete details to the reference levels of the Common European Framework. The findings suggest that validation procedures should be mapped onto theoretical models of performance assessment.

Armin Berger is a Senior Lecturer in English as a Foreign Language in the English Department at the University of Vienna. His main research interests are in the areas of teaching and assessing speaking, rater behaviour, language assessment literacy, and foreign language teacher education.