A Comparative Study on the Effect of the Formative Use of Confidence-Based Scoring and Conventional Scoring on Iranian EFL Learners’ Grammar Improvement

This study aimed at comparing the effect of the formative use of confidence-based scoring and standard scoring on the Iranian EFL learners’ grammar improvement. Participants of this study were 72 freshman students majoring in English translation. The study was conducted in three English grammar classes. These classes were divided into two groups: one class was designated as Group 1 of the study, which was the control group, and the other two classes formed Group 2, which was the experimental group. In order to homogenize the two groups, the grammar section of the January 2004 TOEFL test was given to all classes at the beginning of the semester, and the two groups were matched based on the students’ scores on this test. In other words, the participants were selected in a way that the mean scores of the two groups on the TOEFL test were equal. Both groups received the same formative tests during the semester based on the content of the course. The formative tests in Group 1 were scored conventionally, and the formative tests in Group 2 were scored in a confidence-based manner. To compare the effect of the formative use of these two scoring methods on the Iranian EFL learners’ grammar improvement, at the end of the semester, the final exam scores of the two groups were compared by an independent-samples t-test. Since the mean of the final exam scores of Group 2 was significantly more than that of Group 1, it was concluded that the formative confidence-based assessment was better than the regular formative assessment in improving learning English grammar.