Technological evaluation of a controlled language application: precision, recall, and convergence tests for SECC
Geert Adriaens, Lieve Macken · Ghent University Academic Bibliography (Ghent University) · 1995
We report on two performance tests we did with the SECC controlled English checker and corrector. Goal of the tests is a technological evaluation of the tool: current performance, potential optimal performance. The first test is a precision/recall test using a “real-life test suite”; we discuss its results in terms of specific system components that need improvement, and also compare it to a similar test done with the Boeing SE Checker. The second test is a newly devised one; we call it a convergence test. Its goal is to check whether the system leaves its proposed automatic corrections untouched in a subsequent run. Results show a degree of non-convergence, and point again at previously unnoticed weaknesses in the system that must be taken care of. The problem types that came out of both tests can be of interest for developers of similar grammar checking (and correcting) applications.