Overview

Washback is understood as the effect tests have on teaching and learning, with positive washback producing intended outcomes and negative washback generating unintended effects. By surveying the latest developments in the field and charting future directions, this collection offers a comprehensive treatment of research on washback in the field of language assessment. The book contains chapters exploring fundamental aspects of washback, including the impact-by-design approach, theoretical models, validity frameworks, research designs, and methods. Additional chapters examine washback across various assessment contexts, covering migration-related proficiency tests, formative and standards-based assessments, multilingual and professional language assessments, and the role of technology, including computer-based testing and AI. The book also surveys washback research in primary, secondary, and higher mainstream education, and shadow education, with a focus on English learning in Asian contexts. This book will be of interest to scholars and stakeholders in language testing and assessment, educational measurement, and applied linguistics.

Full Product Details

9781032751016

Table of Contents

Reviews

""A timely book and contemporary statement on the next steps concerning washback research. In this edited volume, David Allen makes a valuable case for the need to pursue the evolving research on washback in language assessment settings. Research of the last 30 years in a variety of contexts has set the stage for a better understanding of assessment consequences and answered initial questions, but we now must strive to gain knowledge in ways to generate positive washback; that is, to employ low stakes and high stakes assessments that enhance teaching and learning, and to integrate positive washback into the design, development, and implementation stages of these assessments. By providing washback fundamentals and current exemplary research contexts, this volume (which includes issues such as fast-paced technological developments) takes a refreshing view on capitalizing on past research, identifying gaps, and proposing a way forward to ensure our language assessments generate positive washback towards the end goal of promoting language learning. A significant contribution to the field of language assessment."" - Carolyn E. Turner, McGill University, Quebec, Canada

Author Information

David Allen is an Associate Professor at Ochanomizu University in Tokyo, Japan, where he teaches English, teaching, and applied linguistics-related courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

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