Reinterpretation of the Concept of Washback in Language Testing

Abstract

Washback refers to the influence that language teachers and learners (or test-takers) have on the existence of a particular test. So far, in terms of learners or test takers perspective, the study of washback has mostly been conducted on students who are about to take the test in a short period of time. However, washback does not only affect the students who are soon going to take the test but also the potential test takers who will take exams in the distant future. That is, the extent or range of washback may be much further and deeper than the previous studies. The purpose of this study is to explore the washback effect on students who still have a plenty of time to slowly prepare for the language tests. In particular, it looks at how students in middle school and in high school changed their English study style due to the changed scoring system in the English area of Korean College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) from norm-referenced to criterionreferenced measurement. The data of this study consist of a survey of students and an interview with an English teacher. The survey demonstrates that learners as preliminary test takers were also under the influence of washback caused by English section of CSAT.