GRE ® AUTOMATED‐EDITING‐TASK PHASE II REPORT: ITEM ANALYSES, REVISIONS, VALIDITY STUDY, AND TAXONOMY DEVELOPMENT

Two automated editing tasks developed in a Phase I study were subjected to item analyses, revised, and then used in a computer‐based test administration at a local college. The data collected in the administration were compared with questionnaire data obtained from students to examine the construct validity of the tasks. In a second approach to construct validation, a taxonomy of writing skills was developed and compared to the skills assessed by the editing tasks. Data analyses indicate that total editing score correlates more strongly with self‐reported English grades than with self‐reported mathematics grades, and that total editing score correlates positively with student self‐assessments of their writing skill, recent grades on writing assignments, and college grade point average. A review of the task elements against the taxonomy indicates that the editing tasks assess important writing skills not assessed by free‐response essays. For this and other reasons, it was concluded that automated editing tasks would serve as a useful complement to free‐response writing assessments.