Abstract
In this article, I examine the existing literature on labor-based grading contracts in L1 contexts alongside the complexity of socially just writing assessment in L2 contexts. Recently, labor-based grading contracts have been identified as a more equitable and socially just method of assessment and have been theorized as being particularly advantageous for students of color, working class students, and multilingual students (Inoue, 2019). Similarly, online writing courses are often viewed as socially just because they are designed to serve the diverse student populations that enroll in online writing courses. However, scholarship on labor-based contract grading has yet to investigate the use of this assessment method in L2 contexts, particularly not online L2 contexts, nor has it considered L2 writing instructors’ perceptions of this assessment practice. As labor-based contact grading is grounded in equitability, it is essential that we consider L2 contexts in this body of research. Using social justice theory as a framework, I argue that labor-based grading contracts hold much potential to serve as a vehicle through which L2 writing instructors can enact socially just assessment practices, particularly in college-level, multilingual first-year writing courses. In this study, I present two cases comprised of data derived from course artifacts, observations, and semi-structured interviews in order to learn more about how labor-based grading contracts are being used in multilingual online first-year writing courses, as well as how the instructors of multilingual online first-year writing courses perceive labor-based contract grading. I found that L2 writing instructors use labor-based contract grading to create opportunity structures for their multilingual students; however, their experiences using labor-based grading contracts vary depending on the extent to which they have designed said contract to align with their pedagogical values. Further, L2 writing instructors acknowledge the complexity of social justice in L2 contexts, but have differing perspectives on how to best practice socially just L2 writing assessment.