GMAT Turns to Computer Scoring for AWA

"Computers Grade Essays of Business School Prospects"
By John Woodward
The Business Journal of Jacksonville - March 24, 2006

The essay-scoring software industry is expanding due to advances in technology, following the introduction of writing on standardized tests, such as the Graduate Management Admissions Test.

Officials at Vantage Learning of Newtown, Pa., said the Graduate Management Admission Council chose the company to provide computer-based essay scoring for the Analytical Writing Assessment portion of the GMAT, used by business colleges to judge prospective graduate students. ...

Amid some concern, officials from the council said the GMAT is not changing, despite the use of automated scoring. They stress that each person's score using the automated system will be comparable to every other person's score before the system was used.

Vantage also provides computer-based essay scoring and feedback for the College Board's online Scholastic Assessment Test practice essays....

The idea of computers grading essay questions may present ethical dilemmas for some, but the technology has been proven, said Harry Barfoot, vice president of marketing for Vantage.

The technology uses a method that allows the program's scoring ability to evolve, or become more specific to individual needs, such as the needs of the GMAT exam, company officials said.

The program operates around different rubrics and models that have been taken from expert scorers. After a prompt is created, a sample number of essays are graded by human scorers.

Their scoring methods and what they look for are input into the program. The program then applies those methods and tags to other essays. According to that principle, the scoring method becomes more refined and more accurate as more human-scored essays are fed into the system, company officials said.