Assessment and Feedback: Examining the Relationship Between Self-assessment and Blind Peer- and Teacher-assessment in TOEFL Writing

Abstract

This study investigated the nature of self-assessment and blind peer- and teacher-assessment in L2 writing. The type of feedback students gave to themselves and peers, the type of feedback used in the revision process, and the source of the feedback used were all analyzed. Additionally, student perceptions of self- and peer-assessment, feedback, and their relationships to perceived writing improvement were also studied. Findings revealed that students in this study did not use teacher feedback significantly more than feedback from themselves or their peers, but they did give different types of feedback than the teacher and favored using feedback related to language use in the revision process. Students perceived their writing abilities to have increased due to self- and peer-assessment but responded more positively to peer-assessment than selfassessment. Surprisingly, students also perceived their abilities to have increased in rubric areas in which the feedback they received was not used and not regarded as useful, and the highest perceived gains in writing ability were in areas which accounted for the lowest amounts of feedback given.