Abstract
This study intends to develop a rubric articulating the assessment criteria and performance standards for free writing of learners at A2-level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages Japan (CEFR-J). The rubric is designed on the basis of the linguistic features of 106 learners’ free writing texts at the CEFR-J A2-level, as indicated by a multiple regression analysis (Hirabayashi, 2015a). The analysis demonstrated a model consisting of four expository variables: the number of words, the Coleman- Liau Index (CLI), the Measure of Textual Lexical Diversity (MTLD), and the average length of error-free T-units. The criteria for three of these variables, excluding the MTLD, for judging the quality of the texts were also created and verified by a χ2 test. These three variables were adopted as dimensions in this study’s rubric. The dimensions consist of the following three elements: the appropriate content of the texts, equivalent to the number of words, the readability as shown by the CLI, and the error-free linguistic complexity of sentences, shown by the average length of error-free T-units. Each dimension was graded on a three-point scale. On the basis of this scale and the ratio of the standardized partial regression coefficient of the multiple regression to a holistic evaluation of the free writing text, the score for free writing by CEFR-J A2-level learners of English was decided. It was shown that there was a high correlation between the score calculated according to this rubric and the holistically evaluated scores for 106 free writing texts by CEFR-J A2-level learners of English.
