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Brian Huot. Reliability, Validity, and Holistic Scoring: What We Know and What We Need to Know.

Huot, Brian. "Reliability, Validity, and Holistic Scoring: What We Know and What We Need to Know." CCC 41.2 (1990): 201-213.

Abstract:

The author's purpose in this essay is "to outline the present state of holistic writing evaluation, the inflated position of reliability and the neglected status of validity, and to consider what we know and what we need to know in order to establish the theoretic soundness of holistic scoring procedures." Holistic, rubric-based scoring emphasizes the reliability of scores, but the author warns that these holistic scoring procedures change the natural relationship between the reader and the text, forcing the scorer to look narrowly at a piece of writing instead of valuing a personal, subjective reaction to the text. The author argues that the field needs to further develop holistic scoring procedures that will be more accurate and valid in assessing the effectiveness of student writing.
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