Assessing the level of improvement of students' writing competency during a
semester is becoming increasingly important for business communication
instructors. When conducting an assessment, instructors need to be aware of
issues that will affect reliability and validity. They need to develop cleargoals
at the beginning; for example, good assessment strives to improve instruction
and to develop students' communication skills. Because different schools have
different missions and operate in different environments, a custom-made
instrument will ensure that the assessment fits the local conditions. Before con
ducting the assessment, the instrument needs to be validated for specific use,
and scorers must be trained in holistic scoring to reach an overall assessment.
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