Interactive Scenario-Based Tasks for Assessing Communication Skills in Early Adolescence

Effective communication is essential in both everyday and educational contexts. To efficiently address social skill challenges among students, teachers and parents require valid assessment tools. This study presents interactive scenario-based tasks (ISBTs) with automatic scoring for assessing communication skills in collaborative settings (CSCS), targeting early adolescents. Forty-seven performance indicators were developed across three ISBTs. Validity evidence was gathered based on the tool’s internal structure, text complexity analysis, and correlations with sociodemographic variables, academic achievement, and involvement in activities with friends and family. The assessment was validated using data from two studies (Study 1: n = 1841; Study 2: n = 729). Additionally, alternative forms of the ISBTs were developed to facilitate pretest–posttest analysis, and evidence of their comparability is presented. Finally, the study discusses future directions for the assessment of communication skills.