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Does Washback Exist?

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Does Washback Exist? DOCUMENT RESUME FL 020 178 ED 345 513 AUTHOR Alderson, J. Charles; Wall,Dianne TITLE Does Washback Exist? PUB DATE Feb 92 Symposium on the NOTE 23p.; Paper presented at a Educational and Social Impactsof Language Tests, Language Testing ResearchColloquium (February 1992). For a related document, seeFL 020 177. PUB TYPE Reports - Evaluative/Feasibility(142) Speeches/Conference Papers (150) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Classroom Techniques;Educational Environment; Educational Research; EducationalTheories; Foreign Countries; Language Research;*Language Tests; *Learning Processes; LiteratureReviewa; Research Needs; Second LanguageInstruction; *Second Languages; *Testing the Test; Turkey IDENTIFIERS Nepal; Netherlands; *Teaching to ABSTRACT The concept of washback, orbackwash, defined as the influence of testing oninstruction, is discussed withrelation to second second language teaching andtesting. While the literature of be language testing suggests thattests are commonly considered to powerful determiners of whathappens in the classroom, Lheconcept of washback is not well defined.The first part of the discussion focuses on the concept, includingseveral different interpretations of the phenomenon. It isfound to be a far more complextopic than suggested by the basic washbackhypothesis, which is alsodiscussed and outlined. The literature oneducation in general is thenreviewed for additional information on theissues involved. Very little several research was found that directlyrelated to the subject, but studies are highlighted.Following this, empirical research on language testing is consulted forfurther insight. Studies in Turkey, the Netherlands, and Nepal arediscussed. Finally, areas for additional research are proposed,including further definition of washback, motivation and performance,the role of educational explanatory setting, research methodology,learner perceptions, and factors. A 39-item bibliography isappended. (MSE) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS arethe best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** % 1Waghback "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCETHIS GRANTED SY MATERIAL HAS BEEN U.S. DEPARTMENT Of EDUCATION Does washback exist? Officv EdutaliOnei fiftearth a.):1 7vftro 0\1-0Aer EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) )44,TIEsOocurnsnt nss Nen riproducsd la& mowed from fho rof Son or OMNI lizattell onginsting IL J Charles Alderson and Dianne Wall O Minor chows have been made to improve roroduction gustily TO THE EDUCATIONALRESOURCES Lancaster University INFORMATION CENTER (ERICV Points ol %%swot opnrons Slated in Itus dOeir mom do not neCOIMIPly HMI eient OtfiCts1 OEM position or poky ett Paper presented in the symposium on "The Educational and Social Impacts of Language Tests", Language Testing Research Colloquium, February 1992 g:14 Introduction CeZ The notion of washback, or backwash - the influence of tests f= on teaching - is commonplace in the educational and applied cal linguistic literature. There has developed within British applied linguistics a tendency to use the term "washbark" to label the phenomenon of the in _uence of t 3ting on teaching, although the older term "backwash" is still prevalent in the educational literature. Since discussions of this phenomenon within British language testing for the past twenty years have tended to use the term "washback" rather than "backwash", we continue the tradition, and use this term. Those who prefer the term "backwash", for whatever reason, are invited to consider "washback" to be a simple translation equivalent. We __are ourselves persuaded that the difference in terminology has no semantic or pragmatic significance whatsoever. It is commonly asserted that tests have influence: that is, that tests affect teachers and learners and thereby affect teaching and learning. (See, for example, Wiseman, 1961; Davies, 1968; Kellaghan, 1982; Alderson, 1986; Morrow, 1986; Pearson, 1988, Hughes, 1989; Khaniya, 1990a and b). For example, Pearson (1988), says: "It is generally accepted that public examinations influence the attitudes, behaviour, and motivation of teachers, learners and parents." Ebel (1979:23, quoted in Khaniya, 1990b, claims that it is common practice for students to work harder when they know that they are approaching exams than when they do not. In describing the effect of examinations, Wong (1969) writes: "The examination dictates the activities in schools. Syllabuses .. are issued by examination syndicates and central authorities. Interpretation of the syllabus is carried out chiefly by reference to past examination papers ./hich.. tend to carry questions similar in type and content year after year." c) (Wong, 1969, p363 quoted in Khaniya (1990b). (NJ 2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE 2 Washback Morris (1972:75) considers examinations necessaryto ensure that the curriculum is put into effect, andWiseman (1961:64, quoted in Khaniya (1990b), says that "goodexaminations are useful and desirable: without them educationwould be poorer and much less effective". Pilliner (1973:4) claims that the most importantrequirement of a good test is that it should be educationallybeneficial, thus taking washback for granted. Alderson (1986: 104) discusses the "potentially powerful influence of tests", and argues for innovations inthe language curriculum through innovations in languagetesting. Khaniya (1990h: 22) asserts that washback is aninherent attribute of an examination: "Since an examination is used as an achievementtest, asking students to take an exam entails teachingand preparing for it....Whatever is done all along the way(sic) of examination preparation is the 'washback'effect of the examination. This effect can influence the teachingand learning methods employed from beginning to endof a course if examinations require students to cover all what(sic) is entailed in the course objectives. But if an examdoes not require the students to work for the whole year,the whole preparation will rest on the last couple of weeks/namths before the examination". Khaniya also asserts that "an exam defines for thestudents the content and performance objectives of thecourse" (p 26). Pearson (1988) goes even further andclaims not only that gcod tests will encourage the use of "beneficial teaching-learning processes", but also that they "will be more or less directly usable as teaching learning activities. Similarly, good teaching-learningtasks will be more or less directly usable for testing purposes, even though practical or financialconstraints limit the possibilities." None of these assertions appear to us to be in any way unusual. Washback is often introduced on languagetesting courses as a powerful concept thatall test designers need to pay attention to, and which mostclassroom teachers are all too aware of. Swain (1985) discusses theimportance of the influence of the test on teaching, and recommends that test developers "bias for best" and "work for washback".(Although quite how test designers are to take account of evenpotential washback, much less actually experienced washback, is to our knowledge not discussed.) Davies (1985) asks whether tests rmcessarily follow the curriculum, and suggests thatperhaps tests ought to be leading and influencingcurricula. Some writers have even gone so far as to suggest that atest's 3 Washback validity should be measured by the degreeto which it has had a beneficial influence onteaching. Keith Morrow(1986) coined the term "washback validity" todenote the quality of the relationship between a test and associatedteaching. The notion presumably means something like:"this test is valid when it has good washback"; andconversely, "this test is invalid when it has negative washback". He says (p6): "The first validity criterion that Iwould .. put forward for (these examinations) would be a measureof how far the intended washback effect was actuallybeing met in practice". He admits, however: "I am not sureat this stage how it could be measured", although he then goes onto claim: "In essence an examination ofwashback validity would take testing researchers into theclassroom in order to observe the effect of their tests inaction". He cites Wilkins, Widdowson and others asasserting that direct tests of language performancewill be "most beneficial in terms of washback effect", and arguesthat communicative te As like the former RSA CUEFLshould have a "powerful and pos'tive washback effect into theclassroom" (p6). This sentiment was echoed recently in thegeneral educational literature,by Frederiksen and Collins(1989), whose criteria for a valid test include the degreeof directness of assessment of cognitive skills, and thedegree of subjective --judgement that is required to assign a score.They consider that valid tests will involve thesubjective, direct assessment of higher-order cognitiveskills Indeed, Frederiksen and Collins introduce aconcept similar to "washback validity", with a different name:the term "systemic validity", which they define as follows: "A systematically valid test is onethat induces in the education system curricular and instructionalchanges that foster the development of the cognitiveskills that the test is designed to measure. Evidence forsystemic validity would be an improvement in those skillsafter the test has been in place within the educational systemfor a period of time" (p27) However, to our knowledge, this formof validity has never been demonstrated, or indeedinvestigated,
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