Research on the Development of a Rubric for Competency-based Assessment of an Introductory Academic Discourse Text

Abstract

The aim of this study was to develop a rubric for evaluating beginning academic discourse texts produced in a writing class at a university. Given the recent emphasis on competency-based education and the need to introduce the concept of competence into writing education, this study proposed the development and untilzation of a writing assessment tool that enables the measurement of competence. To this end, a rubric was developed to identify competency elements that can be internalized through the performance of assignments in advanced writing courses in the liberal arts curriculum of K university and to specify achievement levels.The rubric followed the four-step model Stevens and Levi (2013), a representative rubric development model. It was designed to identify the link between task performance and university core competencies, detailed competencies that can be measured through the assessment elements of the task, and performance characteristics by achievement level. The rubric was reviewed by experts and revised to ensure its effectiveness through preliminary evaluation. We expect that the rubric can be further improved by introducing it into actual classrooms while considering the implications drawn from the preliminary evaluation results. The significance of this study is that it presents a rubric as an assessment tool that enables the consistent and efficient assessment of academic discourse texts covered in the required liberal arts courses in a university and one that identifies the specific content of the performance required to improve achievement and competence.