Hello Grammarians,
 
It has been a long while since I've seen any messages on this listserve, and
I miss them.  I thought we could re-open the discourse with a topic I have
recently been reading and thinking about: the holistic scoring of student
writing.
 
I just finished reading a short article by Liz Hamp-Lyons, called "Rating
Nonnative Writing: The Trouble with Holistic Scoring" TESOL QUARTERLY 29:4
(1995):759-762.  Ms. Hamp-Lyons, I think, hits the nail on the head when she
says that this kind of rating system fails to provide "knowledge about what
weaknesses and problems need to be worked on or what strengths illuminate
the writing" of students (761).
 
One area of writing which is not assessed by a holistic score is the
question of grammatical competence or the application of grammar to
composition.  We have a series of tests in my state (CT) which assesses
reader responses to literature with a holistic grade.  Grammar and spelling
are not assessed in this score.
 
I'm curious what experiences and opinions you all have regarding this issue.
Perhaps we can engage in a dialogue here on the listserve.  I'll be looking
forward to your comments.
 
Read you later,
 
Paul E. Doniger - ELI;University of Bridgeport
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