Asian Association for Language Assessment

Assessing the construct of argumentation in second language writing is a perennial concern for both language testing and second language writing specialists. While scholarship in L2 writing has substantially deepened the theoretical construct of argumentation, language testing research must constrain its operationalization to ensure reliability, validity, and practicality. In large-scale assessments, argumentation is often captured indirectly, folded into broader categories such as organization or task completion. Local assessments, however, can serve as productive sites to explore more direct and fine-grained approaches to assessment argumentation. This talk traces the evolution of a local writing placement test designed to measure argumentation more directly and serve a complex network of stakeholders associated with the local writing program. Largely through a community of practice approach, this collaborative work has involved developing a shared construct definition among stakeholders, revising writing tasks to elicit argumentation, validating new rating scales, and exploring technological tools to automate selected processes. Ultimately, these innovations can strengthen alignment between assessment and instruction, enhancing the instructional effectiveness of L2 writing instructors and the learning experience of L2 writers.