THE IMPACT OF SOME OBVIOUS VARIABLES ON ESSAY TEST SCORES

Any condition on an essay test paper that attracts the reader's attention away from the content of the essay would appear to have a potential effect on scores given to that test. In fact, the early studies by James (1927) and Sheppard (1929) found that quality of handwriting significantly influenced grades given to essays. It may be reasonably hypothesized that other conditions, such as poor spelling, which cause the reader to attend to the physical structure of the essay would also result in lower marks than those given to papers with perfect mechanics of expression.