A Case Study On The Washback Of Shanghai New Matriculation English Test On High School English Teaching And Learning

Under the background of the national promotion of basic education curriculum reform and outsourcing English Proficiency Tests(EPT),Shanghai has implemented the new matriculation test scheme since 2017.As the matriculation test is a high-stakes examination,it will inevitably have an impact on high school English teaching and learning,which is called “washback”.However,at present,there are few studies on the washback of the National Matriculation English Test(NMET),and research on the washback of Shanghai New Matriculation English Test(SNMET)is particularly insufficient.Different from the traditional ones,SNMET includes the policies of “One Year Two Tests”(OYTT),“Building a Standardized Test Corpus”(BSTC),“Building Standardized Examination Rooms”(BSER),and adding listening and speaking examination and summary writing in the test,of which,OYTT can be seen as the prelude to EPT outsourcing.This study focuses on the washback of SNMET,aiming to answer three research questions: 1.What washback does SNMET have on senior high school students’ English learning? 2.What washback does SNMET have on senior high school English teachers’ teaching? 3.Does the washback of SNMET affect the direction of the school reform?This study is mainly a case study,taking a high school(School J)as the subject,employing the research method of quantitative and qualitative combination.The data analysis of questionnaire and classroom observation,based on Ecological Systems Theory,serves to answer the research questions.The data analysis of interviews,learning logs,documents and the students’ SNMET scores is used as the strategy of triangular verification to confirm the questionnaire and classroom observation data.Based on the processing and analysis of the research data,the answers to the research questions are as follows:1.SNMET has a strong washback on senior high school students’ English learning.The students take having high score as their main learning goal and doing simulated SNMET as their main learning content.SNMET affects students’ learning through several factors: teachers have the greatest influence,followed by the school and classmates,while parents have the least influence.Under the influence of OYTT,students start preparing for SNMET as early as when they complete the level examination in senior two.There are great differences in students’ English learning attitude,learning time and learning content between the first and second semesters of senior three.The students’ average score of the second SNMET is significantly lower than that of the first.The students who have high scores in the first SNMET focus on other subjects in the second semester of senior three,instead of studying English.This is equivalent to the advance of SNMET time,which reflects the washback of test frequency.2.Under the pressure of the school to rank examination results and improve the students’ scores quickly,English teachers have to adopt a teacher-dominated examination-oriented teaching method although they understand that English teaching should be student-centered and should help improve the students’ English language ability through teaching activities.Their main teaching goal is to improve students’ performance and accuracy in exams,and the secondary goal is to improve the language ability.The English class is dominated by teachers,with giving lectures and checking answers taking most of the time,while student-centered activities rare.As the policy BSTC is adopted,teachers can’t see the SNMET papers,resulting in the popularity of so-called simulation papers and marginalization of English textbooks.The policy OYTT makes the work intensity of senior three English teachers significantly different,with much more work in the first semester than in the second.3.SNMET in nature is to select talents.Students’ aim therefore is to strive for a higher ranking of the test results,rather than the true value of their scores.The school and teachers are compelled to serve students’ main goal of improving their ranking in SNMET scores.SNMET gives rise to the current tendency of test-driven English teaching in the school,which is its negative washback to hinder the school reform direction.While the graduates’ excellent results in SNMET enable the school to rank high in Shanghai and result in the good admission rate of the prestigious universities,the students,the school and the English teachers lack vitality and innovation,and the school fails to reach the goal of comprehensive quality education expected by the new matriculation test scheme.This study proposes the washback ecosystem model of SNMET.In the model,SNMET has a practical washback on senior high school English teaching and learning through chronasystem,macrosystem,mesosystem and microsystem factors.The author hopes that the negative washback of SNMET revealed in this study can draw the attention of new policy makers and examination designers,and promote Shanghai to continue deepening the reform of the new matriculation test scheme.