چکیده:
Test washback is held to be complicated and multifaceted in that a
host of cultural, social, individual, test, and institutional factors are
involved in shaping it. Thus far, the majority of washback studies
have had as their focus the role of teachers in test washback or
washback to teachers. How educational environments or institutions
might function in isolation or in interaction with other factors in
shaping washback to the learners and test takers has not received
adequate research attention. The current study examined the
mediatory role of academic institutions in washback to learners'
perceptions of test content and test preparation. To this aim, 86
senior English students from two universities, one a top tier and the
other a low tier one, completed two questionnaires: one on test
takers' preparation practices including test analysis, test taking skills,
drilling target skills, and socio-affective strategies; and the other on
test takers' construal of test demands and uses as well as their
expectation of success on the test. The data analyzed through partial
least squares structural equation modeling revealed that a washback
model based on expectancy-value theory explains a moderate amount
of variance in test preparation. Further, for test takers from the low
tier university, favorable perceptions of test content were associated
with more value placed on test taking. However, Multi-group analysis
pointed to group-invariance of the model across the two institutions,
indicating a lack of strong evidence for the mediatory role of
educational environments in washback to test takers’ perceptions and
preparation.
خلاصه ماشینی:
The Structural Invariance of a Model of Washback to Test Takers’ Perceptions and Preparation: The Moderating Role of Institutions Kioumars Razavipour Assistant Professor Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz razavipur57@gmail.
The data analyzed through partial least squares structural equation modeling revealed that a washback model based on expectancy-value theory explains a moderate amount of variance in test preparation.
However, Multi-group analysis pointed to group-invariance of the model across the two institutions,Received: 21/01/2018 Accepted: 08/05/2018Corresponding author indicating a lack of strong evidence for the mediatory role of educational environments in washback to test takers’ perceptions and preparation.
The existing literature has it that washback is not a linear process from the test to education; instead, it is a complex phenomenon mediated and moderated by numerous individual, political, cultural, educational, and institutional factors (Shohamy, Donitsa-Schmidt, & Ferman, 1996; Spratt, 2005; Wall & Alderson, 1993; Watanabe, 2004b).
In this study, following Xie and Andrews, we postulated a theoretical model based on expectancy-value (EV) theory and tested against empirical data.
Components and Number of Items in the Preparation Questionnaire imum possible e Data Analysis As stated earlier, one of the dual aims of this study was to examine the adequacy of a theoretical model of washback across two groups of test takers set apart by their institutional affiliation.
PLS algorithm outcome of the washback model for SCU participants According to Figure 3, the overall variance in test takers’ preparation practices explained by the model is .