Investigating the influence of divergent rating scale designs on writing examiners’ cognitive processing and cefr band consistency in malaysian highstakes writing assessments / (Record no. 105387)

MARC details
000 -LEADER
fixed length control field 05240ntm a2200337 i 4500
003 - CONTROL NUMBER IDENTIFIER
control field MY-KuUP
005 - DATE AND TIME OF LATEST TRANSACTION
control field 20260803145823.0
006 - FIXED-LENGTH DATA ELEMENTS--ADDITIONAL MATERIAL CHARACTERISTICS
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007 - PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION FIXED FIELD--GENERAL INFORMATION
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020 ## - INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BOOK NUMBER
International Standard Book Number THE0010792 (Local)
Qualifying information Hardback
040 ## - CATALOGING SOURCE
Original cataloging agency UMPSA
Language of cataloging eng
Transcribing agency UMPSA
Description conventions rda
090 ## - LOCALLY ASSIGNED LC-TYPE CALL NUMBER (OCLC); LOCAL CALL NUMBER (RLIN)
Classification number (OCLC) (R) ; Classification number, CALL (RLIN) (NR) PBM .A45 2025 r Thesis
100 1# - MAIN ENTRY--PERSONAL NAME
Personal name Wan Alisa Hanis Wan Abdul Halim,
Relator term author.
245 10 - TITLE STATEMENT
Title Investigating the influence of divergent rating scale designs on writing examiners’ cognitive processing and cefr band consistency in malaysian highstakes writing assessments /
Statement of responsibility, etc. Wan Alisa Hanis Wan Abdul Halim
264 #1 - PRODUCTION, PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, MANUFACTURE, AND COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Place of production, publication, distribution, manufacture Kuantan Pahang :
Name of producer, publisher, distributor, manufacturer UMPSA,
Date of production, publication, distribution, manufacture, or copyright notice 2026
264 #4 - PRODUCTION, PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, MANUFACTURE, AND COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Date of production, publication, distribution, manufacture, or copyright notice © 2026
300 ## - PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Extent xvi, 182 pages :
Other physical details illustrations (some color) ;
Dimensions 30 cm.+
Accompanying material 1 CD-ROM
336 ## - CONTENT TYPE
Source rdacontent
Content type term text
337 ## - MEDIA TYPE
Source rdamedia
Media type term unmediated
338 ## - CARRIER TYPE
Source rdacarrier
Carrier type term volume
347 ## - DIGITAL FILE CHARACTERISTICS
Source rda
File type text file
Encoding format PDF
500 ## - GENERAL NOTE
General note Center for Modern Language
502 ## - DISSERTATION NOTE
Dissertation note Thesis (Master of Science) -- Universiti Malaysia Pahang – 2026
504 ## - BIBLIOGRAPHY, ETC. NOTE
Bibliography, etc. note Includes bibliographical reference
520 3# - SUMMARY, ETC.
Summary, etc. The adoption of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) in Malaysia’s education system aims to facilitate transitions between educational levels and ensure continuity in the English language curriculum. However, the varying interpretations of CEFR by examination bodies, specifically Lembaga Peperiksaan Malaysia (LPM) and Majlis Peperiksaan Malaysia (MPM), result in the structural differences in the design of rating scales produced for Malaysian writing high-stakes assessments, particularly Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Malaysian University English Test (MUET). Accordingly, this study investigated the differential impact of the divergent designs of two high-stakes Malaysian writing assessments on examiner cognition and CEFR band consistency when scoring the same writing responses. A total of ten students, selected via purposive sampling, completed a writing task developed for the current study. Consequently, six written responses were chosen and rated twice, once using the SPM Bahasa Inggeris 1119/2 guided writing rating scale and once using the MUET Writing extended writing rating scale, by three expert writing examiners (WEs) who were also selected via purposive sampling. Data were obtained through (i) concurrent think-aloud protocols (CTAs), (ii) stimulated recall interviews (SRI), and (iii) CEFR band achievement. CTA data were transcribed and coded using Wolfe’s cognitive processing actions, while SRI data were transcribed and coded before being analysed on NVivo 14 software for coding and matrix analysis. Quantitative data were tabulated and analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics 27 for frequency and correlation analysis. The first finding of the study was the complex relationship between the SPM Bahasa Inggeris 1119/2 guided writing rating scale and the MUET Writing extended writing rating scale. While the design of both rating scales allowed WEs to focus on similar descriptors, with a primary focus on content and communicative aspects, the MUET Writing extended writing scale elicited a higher number of cognitive processing codes compared to the SPM 1119/2 scale. Positive correlations between scales were only observed when the same scale was used for written responses, while negative correlations were found with different scales, which reinforced the distinction in the relationship between the designs. Second, the study found five main cognitive trends when using rating scales, namely that WEs (i) used “top-to-bottom” method, (ii) experienced a greater cognitive load with a scale with wider mark range, (iii) experienced leaser cognitive load and ease with a scale with more number of descriptors, (iv) utilised prior marking experience to interpret vague descriptors, and (v) utilised own cognitive adjustment based on their internal models of good written responses to fill in non-existing descriptors. Finally, the study found a strong positive and significant relationship between CEFR band achievements awarded to the same written responses. These findings revealed that the structural differences in the design of Malaysia’s high-stakes writing rating scales led WEs to adopt different cognitive processing as a means of managing and reducing the cognitive load involved in arriving at scoring judgements. Nonetheless, the consistency in CEFR band achievement suggested that CEFR has successfully provided a flexible framework that accommodated Malaysian adaptation while maintaining continuity in the English curriculum across different educational levels. The study is significant as the study pioneers the studies on CEFR-aligned rating scales using the same student scripts, investigates Malaysian expert WEs’ cognitive processing when using divergent rating scale designs, and contributes methodologically based on the selective application of Wolfe’s cognitive categories in CTA protocols as well as the utilisation of SRI to support CTA for cognition processing analysis.
610 20 - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--CORPORATE NAME
Corporate name or jurisdiction name as entry element Center for Modern Language
General subdivision Dissertations
650 #0 - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--TOPICAL TERM
Topical term or geographic name entry element Universities and colleges
General subdivision Dissertations
650 #0 - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--TOPICAL TERM
Topical term or geographic name entry element Theses
General subdivision Dissertations
942 ## - ADDED ENTRY ELEMENTS (KOHA)
Source of classification or shelving scheme Library of Congress Classification
Koha item type Thesis
Holdings
Withdrawn status Lost status Source of classification or shelving scheme Damaged status Not for loan Collection code Permanent Location Current Location Date acquired Total Checkouts Full call number Barcode Date last seen Copy number Price effective from Koha item type
  Not lost Library of Congress Classification   Final Processing Non-fiction UMPLIB PEKAN UMPLIB PEKAN 03/08/2026   PBM .A45 2025 r Thesis T000005604 03/08/2026 1 03/08/2026 Thesis
  Not lost Library of Congress Classification   Final Processing Non-fiction UMPLIB PEKAN UMPLIB PEKAN 03/08/2026   CD14041 T000005605 03/08/2026 1 03/08/2026 Accompanying Material

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