Joshua Southerland

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2papers

2 Papers

CLSep 10, 2025
Automatic Detection of Inauthentic Templated Responses in English Language Assessments

Yashad Samant, Lee Becker, Scott Hellman et al.

In high-stakes English Language Assessments, low-skill test takers may employ memorized materials called ``templates'' on essay questions to ``game'' or fool the automated scoring system. In this study, we introduce the automated detection of inauthentic, templated responses (AuDITR) task, describe a machine learning-based approach to this task and illustrate the importance of regularly updating these models in production.

CLSep 10, 2025
Toward Subtrait-Level Model Explainability in Automated Writing Evaluation

Alejandro Andrade-Lotero, Lee Becker, Joshua Southerland et al.

Subtrait (latent-trait components) assessment presents a promising path toward enhancing transparency of automated writing scores. We prototype explainability and subtrait scoring with generative language models and show modest correlation between human subtrait and trait scores, and between automated and human subtrait scores. Our approach provides details to demystify scores for educators and students.