Task 8


• Where do you stand on the use of technology in the marking of EAP assessments?


• Do you feel that electronic marking processes will become more commonplace over time? Where do you think the boundaries are


between the efficacy of technology and the flexibility and professional experience of the human marker?


With regard to the future of Assessment Literacy associated with EAP, automated scoring offers the EAP sector additional challenges. If human beings are likely to be less involved with the process of language assessment for commercial tests, then a number of key opportunities for direct involvement in training for and critique of EAP assessment, on a broader scale and outside the confines of individual institutions or departments, will reduce. EAP practitioners will then potentially face a similar situation to the American manufacturing industries in the 1930s as a result of a form of EAP assessment Fordism–Taylorism, which may lead to deskilling due to the automation of the assessment processes (Wood, 1989, p. 3).


As a result of the considerations addressed above, in conjunction with three particular large-scale tests in EAP, the quest to develop skills in assessment requires the EAP practitioner to read between the lines so that an objective view of any EAP test’s development and impact is not masked by other commercial factors and social implications. The companies behind tests such as IELTS, TOEFL and PTE Academic are fully aware that they are in close competition and, as a result, make every effort to market their assessments as extensively as possible. As this section has demonstrated, Assessment Literacy can gain from an understanding of both the innovations in test construct and delivery mechanisms, along with the associated social and political drivers which can be revealed on closer inspection.


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Chapter 14: Learning from large-scale standardized EAP tests


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