The Design and Use of Speaking Assessment Rubrics

Abstract

Speaking is the most difficult skill to assess objectively and reliably. It involves a combination of different variables that may have no or little correlation with each other, and all of them may need to be assessed separately to avoid or at least to reduce the subjectivity of the assessment. The aim of this study is to investigate the existing practices in design and use of speaking assessment rubrics. It also reveals and discusses the most common rubrics used in international worldwide excepted English language tests, as well as recommendations for the development of the speaking assessment rubrics.  This work is believed to be useful for educators to revise their teaching methodology in order to strengthen the alignment between the students' learning outcomes and the assessment of speaking skills in order to increase the benefit of the assessment data enabling teachers to provide more constructive feedback and support the improvement of the English as a foreign language speaking skills.

Keywords: Learning outcomes, rubrics, criteria, assessment, speaking skills, EFL