Developing a Framework to Measure Process-oriented Writing Competence: A Case of Vietnamese EFL Students’ Formal Portfolio Assessment

Abstract

Portfolios have gained great popularity as a method of process-oriented writing assessment in the last 20 years. Despite the apparent advantages, as with other new methods of assessment, they still raise many controversies, particularly those regarding the validity of their contents and assessment. This article describes the first stages in the process of developing the framework for assessing the performance in writing portfolios of students who speak English as a foreign language at Vietnam National University (HULIS-VNU). One of the aims is to argue for the validity of the portfolio writing competence as a construct for use in formal assessment. In terms of methodology, developmental assessment theories are integrated in a five-stage process of instrument development, which integrates qualitative and quantitative research techniques. The completion of the first two stages of the study reveals that 36 indicators, which are specifiable into 138 quality criteria, are applicable in measuring portfolio writing competence. Further validation stages are being implemented to examine these results, but the initial findings have established the assessment framework for the construct. The results indicate the feasibility of designing assessment instruments which encompass both product-oriented and process-oriented features of the writing job for formal assessment purposes and achieving a higher efficiency for performance assessment in general.