Anglophile Journal
Vol. 5 No. 2 (2025): Anglophile Journal

A Teacher-Made Test for an Opinion Paragraph: Insights from Design-Based Research (DBR)

Zuhriyah, Mukminatus (Unknown)
Mukminatien, Nur (Unknown)
Yoke, Soo Kum (Unknown)
Suhono, Suhono (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
29 Oct 2025

Abstract

In English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching and learning, teachers frequently design their own tests to measure students’ skills, monitor progress, and evaluate instructional effectiveness. However, most previous research on teacher-made tests in EFL writing has centered on essay types such as descriptive, argumentative, narrative, expository, and comparison-contrast, leaving opinion paragraphs relatively underexplored. Addressing this gap, the present study describes the systematic development and validation of a teacher-made test specifically designed to assess opinion paragraphs. Conducted in a paragraph writing course at a private university in East Java, the study adopts a genre-based approach and draws on the design-based research (DBR) framework proposed by Cavallaro and  Sembiante (2021). The instrument consists of two components: a writing prompt and an analytic scoring rubric. Its quality was ensured through a comprehensive validation process, including content and face validity (involving two writing instructors and eight students) and inter-rater reliability testing by two trained raters. The resulting test provides a cohesive, valid, and reliable formative assessment tool for evaluating EFL learners’ opinion paragraph writing. The inter-rater reliability coefficient (r = 0.85) indicates a strong positive correlation, supporting the consistency and reliability of the scoring rubric. This study not only contributes to the enhancement of teachers’ assessment literacy but also offers a practical model for developing and validating classroom-based writing assessments in EFL contexts.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

anglophile

Publisher

Subject

Education Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media

Description

Anglophile Journal has the perspectives of languages and language teachings. This journal aims at presenting and discussing some outstanding issues dealing with Applied Linguistics and English Language Teaching (ELT). This journal encompasses original research articles, and short communications, ...