The Common European Framework in its political and educational context What is the Common European Framework?

No 8.
Comparative judgements: Groups discuss pairs of performances stating which is
better – and why. In this way the categories in the metalanguage used by the
raters is identified, as are the salient features working at each level. These
features can then be formulated into descriptors (Pollitt and Murray 1996).
No 9.
Sorting tasks: Once draft descriptors exist, informants can be asked to sort them
into piles according to categories they are supposed to describe and/or
according to levels. Informants can also be asked to comment on, edit/amend
and/or reject descriptors, and to identify which are particularly clear, useful,
relevant, etc. The descriptor pool on which the set of illustrative scales was
based was developed and edited in this way (Smith and Kendall 1963; North
1996/2000).
Quantitative methods:
These methods involve a considerable amount of statistical analysis and careful
interpretation of the results. 
No 10.
Discriminant analysis: First, a set of performance samples which have already
been rated (preferably by a team) are subjected to a detailed discourse analysis.
This qualitative analysis identifies and counts the incidence of different
qualitative features. Then, multiple regression is used to determine which of
the identified features are significant in apparently determining the rating
which the assessors gave. Those key features are then incorporated in
formulating descriptors for each level (Fulcher 1996). 
No 11.
Multidimensional scaling: Despite the name, this is a descriptive technique to
identify key features and the relationship between them. Performances are
rated with an analytic scale of several categories. The output from the analysis
technique demonstrates which categories were actually decisive in
determining level, and provides a diagram mapping the proximity or distance
of the different categories to each other. This is thus a research technique to
identify and validate salient criteria (Chaloub-Deville 1995).