A Review Research of Washback in Language Testing

Xin HU

Abstract


Washback is an important concept in language testing. It reflects the effect of the testing. Based on washback, modification and optimization can be made to face the need of teachers and learners. This article aims to make a review research on washback at home and abroad to find a new direction for future research. The research is based on proper journal articles on both core international journals and CNKI. In line with all related articles, three main aspects of washback research - theoretical models, positive and negative washback effects - are illustrated. Theoretical models contribute to empirical research and help to better understand washback. Negative washback is a common phenomenon in testing so that possible reasons causing the phenomenon will be mainly discussed. Positive washback is usually generated by making some updates. This research provides an insight into a multi-method study with the other field - test ethics - in the educational system.


Keywords


Washback; Language testing; Test ethics

Full Text:

PDF

References


Alderson, J. C. (2011). A lifetime of language testing. (Applied linguistic series). Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.

Alderson, J. C., & Wall, D. (1993). Does washback exist? Applied Linguistics, 14(2), 115-129.

Bachman, L. F., & Palmer, A. (1996). Language testing in practice: Designing and developing Useful language tests. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Bailey, K. M. (1996). Working for washback: A review of the washback concept in language testing. Language Testing, 13(3), 257-279.

Biggs, J.B. (1995). Assumptions underlying new approaches to educational assessment: implications for Hong Kong, Curriculum Forum, 4(2), 2-22.

Buck, G. (1992). Translation as a language testing procedure: does it work? Language Testing, 9(2), 123-148.

Cheng, L. (2005). Changing language teaching through language testing: A washback study (Vol.21). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Cheng, L., & Curtis, A. (2004). Washback or backwash: A review of the impact of testing on teaching and learning. In L. Cheng, Y. Watanabe & A. Curtis (Eds.), Washback in Language Testing: Research Contexts and Methods (pp. 3-17). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Cheng, L., & Qi, L. (2006). Description and examination of the national matriculation English test. Language Assessment Quarterly, 3(1), 53-70.

Choi, I.-C. (2008). The impact of EFL testing on EFL education in Korea. Language Testing, 25(1), 39-62.

Green, A. (2006). Watching for washback: Observing the influence of the international English Language Testing System Academic Writing Test in the Classroom. Language Assessment Quarterly, 3(4), 333-368.

Hamp-Lyons, L. (1997). Washback, Impact and Validity: Ethical Concerns. Language Testing, 14(3), 295-303.

Hirai, A., & Koizumi, R. (2009). Development of a practical speaking test with a positive impact on learning using a story retelling technique. Language Assessment Quarterly, 6(2), 151-167.

Hou, Y. (2018). A study on the washback effect of the reform of SHMET listening and speaking test. Technology Enhanced Foreign Language Education, (05), 23-29.

Hughes, A. (1989). Testing for Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hughes, A. (1993). Backwash and TOEFL 2000. Unpublished manuscript, commissioned by Educational Testing Service (ETS). University of Reading.

Liao, Y. (2010). Reflection on the failure of oral english test in college English final examination. Education and Vocation, (02), 178-179.

Macqueen, S., Knoch, U., Wigglesworth, G., Nordlinger, R., Singer, R., McNamara, T., & Brickle, R. (2019). The impact of national standardized literacy and numeracy testing on children and teaching staff in remote Australian Indigenous communities. Language Testing, 36(2), 265-287.

Messick, S. (1996). Validity and washback in language testing. Language Testing, 13(3), 241-256.

Morrow, K. (1986). The evaluation of tests of communicative performance. In: M. Portal (Ed.), Innovations in Language Testing (pp. 1-13). London: NFER/Nelson.

Muñoz, A. P., & Álvarez, M. E. (2010). Washback of an oral assessment system in the EFL classroom. Language Testing, 27(1), 33-49.

Pearson, I. (1988). Tests as levers for change. In D. Chamberlain & R. J. Baumgardner (Eds.), ESP in the Classroom: Practice and Evaluation. ELT Documents Volume 128 (pp. 98-107). London: Modern English Publications.

Popham, W. J. (1987). The merits of measurement-driven instruction. Phi Delta Kappan, 68(9), 679-682.

Qi, L. (2005). Stakeholders’ conflicting aims undermine the washback function of a high-stakes test. Language Testing, 22(2), 142-173.

Shepard, L. A. (1990). Inflated test score gains: Is the problem old norms or teaching the test? Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 9(3), 15-22.

Shi, X. (2010). A longitudinal backwash study of the new CET 4/6 listening tests. Foreign Language World, (03), 80-86.

Shih, C.-M. (2007). A new washback model of students’ learning. Canadian Modern Language Review, 64(1), 135-161.

Shih, C.-M. (2010). The washback of the general English proficiency test on university policies: A Taiwan case study. Language Assessment Quarterly, 7(3), 234-254.

Shohamy, E., Donitsa-Schmidt, S., & Ferman, I. (1996). Test impact revisited: Washback effect over time. Language Testing, 13(3), 298-317.

Spratt, M. (2005). Washback and the classroom: the implications for teaching and learning of studies of washback from exams. Language Teaching Research, 9(1), 5-29.

Trace, J., Janssen, G., & Meier, V. (2017). Measuring the impact of rater negotiation in writing performance assessment. Language Testing, 34(1), 3-22.

Vernon, P. (1956). The measurement of Abilities. London: University of London Press.

Wall, D. (1997). Impact and washback in language testing. In C. Clapham & D. Corson (Eds.), Encyclopedia of language and education. Vol. 7. language testing and assessment (pp. 291-302). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.

Wiseman, S. (1961). The efficiency of examinations. In Wiseman, S (ed). Examinations and English Education. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Wu, J. R. (2012). GEPT and English language teaching and testing in Taiwan. Language Assessment Quarterly, 9(1), 11-25.

Xie, Q. (2015). Do component weighting and testing method affect time management and approaches to test preparation? A study on the washback mechanism. System, 50, 56-68.

Xie, Q., & Andrews, S. (2013). Do test design and uses influence test preparation? Testing a model of washback with Structural Equation Modeling. Language Testing, 30(1), 49-70.

Zhang, Y., & Elder, C. (2009). Measuring the speaking proficiency of advanced EFL learners in China: The CET-SET Solution. Language Assessment Quarterly, 6(4), 298-314.

Zheng, Y. (2018). Washback and test ethics based on a unified view of validity — Reconstruction of the participants relation in English Test. Journal of North Minzu University (Philosophy and Social Science), (04), 156-160.

Zhou, S., & Xiao, F. (2016). An empirical study of correlation between CET and CET-SET Scores: based on washback theory. Foreign Languages Research, 33(02), 52-57+112.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/12122

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2021 Xin Hu

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Share us to:   

 

Online Submission: http://cscanada.org/index.php/sll/submission/wizard


Reminder

How to do online submission to another Journal?

If you have already registered in Journal A, then how can you submit another article to Journal B? It takes two steps to make it happen:

1. Register yourself in Journal B as an Author

Find the journal you want to submit to in CATEGORIES, click on “VIEW JOURNAL”, “Online Submissions”, “GO TO LOGIN” and “Edit My Profile”. Check “Author” on the “Edit Profile” page, then “Save”.

2. Submission

Go to “User Home”, and click on “Author” under the name of Journal B. You may start a New Submission by clicking on “CLICK HERE”.


We only use three mailboxes as follows to deal with issues about paper acceptance, payment and submission of electronic versions of our journals to databases: caooc@hotmail.com; sll@cscanada.net; sll@cscanada.org

 Articles published in Studies in Literature and Language are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY).

 STUDIES IN LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE Editorial Office

Address: 1055 Rue Lucien-L'Allier, Unit #772, Montreal, QC H3G 3C4, Canada.
Telephone: 1-514-558 6138 
Website: Http://www.cscanada.net; Http://www.cscanada.org 
E-mail: office@cscanada.net; office@cscanada.org; caooc@hotmail.com

Copyright © 2010 Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture