Literature review · Graduate coursework
Automated Essay Scoring and Large Language Models: A Literature Review
Traces the history of Automated Essay Scoring from its earliest
statistical tool, Project Essay Grade (Page, 1966), through Latent
Semantic Analysis, neural network and pretrained transformer methods,
up to today's Large Language Models — comparing each generation's
correlation with human raters and its limitations (surface-feature
reliance, cost of retraining, inability to capture meaning). Closes by
identifying an open gap in the literature: how well fine-tuned LLMs can
approximate human rater judgment at scale in high-stakes writing
assessment.
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Term paper · Graduate coursework · Empirical case study
Lexical Coverage and Readability in an ESL Reading Textbook: A Case Study of Reading Explorer 2 (Third Edition)
Examines lexical coverage — the percentage of words in a text a
reader already knows — and readability as predictors of reading
comprehension, building on Laufer (1989), Hu and Nation (2000), and
Schmitt, Grabe, and Jiang (2011). Calculates lexical coverage and
Flesch Reading Ease scores chapter-by-chapter for Reading
Explorer 2 (Third Edition). Findings: lexical
coverage ranged from 86.86% to 98.81% and Flesch Reading Ease scores
ranged from 66.55 to 77.30 across chapters, placing most chapters at
an instructional level — comprehensible with teacher support
rather than fully independent reading — with direct implications
for how teachers and curriculum designers choose leveled reading
materials.
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Curriculum evaluation project
Evaluation of a National English Curriculum (Grades 1–2)
An evaluation of Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training
General Education Program for introductory English (Grades 1–2,
ages 6–7), analyzing its purpose, goals, content, and pedagogy
— including its use of Total Physical Response, task-based
learning, and project-based learning to build early cultural awareness
and foundational language skills ahead of English becoming a compulsory
subject in Grade 3. The evaluation examines the curriculum's student
and environment analysis and its implementation feasibility, flagging
the urban–rural resource gap and heavy reliance on informal,
in-class assessment, and closes with policy recommendations: continuous
teacher training, regionally flexible pacing and materials, and pilot
programs ahead of nationwide rollout.
Download evaluation (PDF, 106 KB)