Holistic versus Analytic Evaluation of EFL Writing: A Case Study

This paper investigates the performance of holistic and analytic scoring rubrics in the context of EFL writing. Specifically, the paper compares EFL students ’ scores on a writing task using holistic and analytic scoring rubrics. The data for the study was collected from 30 participants attending an English undergraduate program in a Yemeni university. The authors used psychometric statistics (Inter-rater Agreement, Intra-Class Correlation, t-test and ANOVA) to compare the performance of the students on the two rubrics in accurately diagnosing students ’ strengths and weaknesses and placing them along a continuum of foreign language writing proficiency. The raters of the writing samples included three experienced instructors working at the same department. The results of correlating the students and raters ’ holistic and analytic scores and of examining the variations among the correlations provide evidence for the reliability and validity of both rubrics. Analytic scoring rubrics, however, placed the examinees along a more clearly defined scale of writing ability, and are, therefore, more reliable than holistic scoring rubric instruments for evaluating EFL writing for achievement purposes than holistic scoring rubric