A comparison of two models (2008-2009)

Advising students of diagnostic writing assessment outcomes

Assoc. Professor Ute Knoch
NACADA Research Support Program Grant

Renewed interest has surfaced in diagnostic assessment, however very little work has focused on the optimal way of advising students of their diagnostic assessment outcomes (except Knoch, 2007a, 2007b, 2007c). It could however be argued that the feedback profiles and the way these are presented to test takers are a crucial aspect of the diagnostic assessment cycle (eg Alderson, 2005). The aim of this study was therefore is to establish what types of diagnostic feedback on academic English writing performance are considered feasible and useful by advising staff, students and raters at a large university with a high proportion of international students with English as an additional language (EAL).