To ascertain if the descriptive criteria of the original Evaluation Scale of the City University of New York (CUNY) Writing Skills Assessment Test might be refined in the light of CUNY's 4 years of experience with large scale testing, a two-phase study was conducted over the period of 1 year, from May 1981 through June 1982, and involved nearly 100 people in a complex process of collaboration and consensus. The first phase of the study sought to develop refined descriptive criteria for the scores that comprised the evaluation scale. The second phase was a pilot study to test the hypothesis that the Refined Evaluation Scale was a revision of the original evaluation scale, and not a new document. As a result of the positive findings in the pilot study, the Refined Evaluation Scale was adopted for official use within CUNY. (Appendixes include a sample of the CUNY Writing Skills Assessment Test, the original Evaluation Scale, panel materials, scored student essays for panelists' use (Phase I), panelists' descriptive criteria, the Refined Evaluation Scale, reader guidelines for holistic scoring (pilot study), and a list of participants in the study.) (HOD)