Unacclimatized?: Understanding the potential of labor-based contract grading interventions in Chinese EFL writing contexts

Abstract

Despite the exuberant scholarly discussions on labor-based contract grading as an alternative to traditional high-stakes writing assessment, few empirical studies have explored its effects on students’ writing outcomes, especially in L2 writing contexts. Set against the context of EFL writing classes at a Chinese university, the study examined the effectiveness of the labor-based contract grading intervention on both academic and affective outcomes in L2 writing over one semester. Data were collected from 160 students (72 in the control group and 88 in the experimental group; M_age = 18.60, SD =.68, 48.13 % female) before and after the intervention. Results of repeated measures MANOVA revealed significant differences in students’ writing academic outcomes between two groups. Specifically, the labor-based contract grading group showed less improvement in L2 writing performance as compared to the traditional high-stakes writing assessment. Moreover, no significant differences were observed in students’ affective writing outcomes across two groups. The findings highlight the importance of considering contextual factors when implementing labor-based contract grading in diverse writing contexts. Relevant implications and directions for future research are discussed.