Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Dr Roger Hawkey Visiting Professor, Centre for Research in English Learning and Assessment University of Bedfordshire
3rd Annual IELTS Conference Beijing, 25 November 2010
Washback (Backwash)?
Washback refers to an exams influences on teaching, teachers, learning, curriculum and materials (eg
Alderson and Wall 1993, Hamp-Lyons 2000, Hawkey, 2006, 9), Shohamy, Donitsa-Schmidt and Ferman, 1996).
Hughes (e.g. 2003) and Green (2007) call the same phenomenon backwash
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Samuel Messick, test validity guru, refers to washback as . . . the extent to which the introduction and use of a test influences language teachers and learners to do things they would not
Impact
Impact is concerned with wider influences, broader social contexts of tests; washback with micro contexts of the classroom and the school (Hawkey 2006 and Hamp-Lyons 2000). Impact generally agreed to cover the total effect of a test on the educational process and on the wider community (McNamara 2000: 133).
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all the
Learners Teachers, Heads School owners Test writers Consultants Examiners Test centre administrators Materials writers Publisher inter alia
Test format
Test scores
Context of test use where decisions are made by stakeholders using test scores
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But complex as they are, impact studies are needed, or how do we know what the impacts, part of the validity of a test, are and how they compare with what they should be? If we dont try to find out about the likely impacts, how can we plan for achieving positive washback with communicative language tests?
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WHERE DOES IMPACT STUDY FIT INTO THE PROCESS OF EXAMINATION DEVELOPMENT?
Washback of test on teaching, learning, materials Washback of test on learner and candidate performance
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Two-way washback?
Washback is not necessarily unidirectional, i.e. from exam to textbook and teaching rather than bi-directional, i.e. also from textbook and teaching to exam (Wall
2005, and Hawkey 2009)
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TESTOF PROFICIENCY?
No 28%
Yes 72%
41 17 16 15 14 13
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6 LISTENING
49 24 18 9
45 26 20 9
24
28
17
20
19
Tim e
49
24
18
Difficulty
20 Reading
40 Writing
60 Listening Speaking
80 Grammar Vocab
100
120
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DID YOUR IELTS PREP COURSE PROVIDE YOU WITH THE LANGUAGE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS YOU NEED?
17%
Yes No
83%
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A bit 19%
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Does the IELTS test cause stress for your students? Yes 44
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References
Alderson J C & Wall D (1993) Does washback exist? Applied Linguistics 14(2): 115-129 Alderson J C and Banerjee J (1996) How might impact study instruments be validated? Paper commissioned by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES) as part of the IELTS Impact Study Bachman L (1990) Fundamental Considerations in Language Testing, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Bachman (2005) Building and supporting a case for test use, Language Assessment Quarterly 2, 1, 1-34 Bachman L and Palmer A (1996) Language Testing in Practice, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Green A (2007) IELTS Washback in Context: preparation for academic writing in higher education, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Hamp-Lyons, L (2000) Social, professional and individual responsibility in language testing, System 28 (4), 579-591. Hawkey, R (2006) Impact theory and practice: studies of the IELTS test and Progetto Lingue 2000, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Hawkey R (forthcoming) Consequential Validity, in Taylor, L (Ed) Hughes A (2003) Testing for language teachers, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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McNamara, T. 2000. Language Testing. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Messick, S (1989) Validity, in Linn, R L (Ed.) Educational Measurement (3rd ed.), New York: Macmillan, 13-103. Messick, S (1994) The interplay of evidence and consequences in the validation of performance assessments, Educational Researcher 23 (2), 13-23. Messick S (1996) Validity and washback in language testing, Language Testing November 1996 vol. 13 no. 3 241-256 Saville N (2009) Developing a model for investigating the impact of language assessment within educational contexts by a public examination provider, unpublished PhD thesis. Saville N., & Hawkey, R (2004). The IELTS Impact Study: Investigating Washback on Teaching Materials. In L. Cheng & Y Watanabe (Eds.) 2004: 97-112. Shohamy, E, 1999 Language Testing: Impact in B. Spolsky, ed., Concise Encyclopaedia of Educational Linguistics ((oxford 1999) 711-714 Shohamy E (2001) The Power of Tests: A critical perspective on the uses of language tests, Harlow: Pearson Education. Shohamy, E. Donitsa-Schmidt S & Ferman I.(1996). Test impact revisited: Washback effect over time. Language Testing, 13 (3) 298-317 Taylor L Ed (forthcoming) Examining Speaking, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wall D (2005) The Impact of a High-Stakes Examination on Classroom Teaching: A Case Study Using Insights from Testing and Innovation Theory Studies in Language Testing 22 UCLES Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Weir C (2005) Language Testing and Validity Evidence: Oxford:. Palgrave.
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