'Backwash' effects of high-stake degree level HE assessment on teaching practices

Thesis

The backwash phenomenon, or how assessment influences teaching and learning, is a firmly established field of inquiry within language testing research, particularly in the context of high-stake assessments. However, there remains a good deal of empirical research to shed light on similar phenomena in degree-level higher education (HE) contexts. This paper addressed that research lacuna by exploring summative tests in HE business studies and contributed novel insights into the impact of backwash influences in summative tests on academic practice and student behaviour.

Drawing on Alderson and Wall’s (1993) washback hypotheses and Messick's (1989) conceptualisation of consequential validity, the research critically examined the nature and degree of assessment driven effects on learning and pedagogy. This research challenged claims by scholars such as White (2009) that argue higher education assessments are less susceptible to negative backwash effects due to their flexible nature in terms of design. Drawing on empirical evidence, the research provided insight into how summative high-stake assessments in HE can produce positive as well as negative consequences. This research learned that academic staff recognised the consequences of assessment design but often constrained by administrative and institutional demands, which suppressed their ability to innovate or improvise.

Teaching practices displayed a generally positive or neutral backwash effect, with lecturers being responsive and adaptable to the requirements of the curriculum rather than rigidly following preferred teaching methods. Learning was heavily influenced by summative assessment, as students focused on assessment tasks in ways that potentially undermine deep learning, indicating a clear negative backwash effect.

The research confirmed that any assessment with actual consequences, whether certification or academic progression, will inevitably lead to some sort of backwash. Findings validate that summative assessment in HE benefits teaching pedagogy with a positive backwash, hurts learning habits with a negative backwash, and has a neutral effect on teaching philosophy and techniques. This empirical research made a substantive contribution to the evolving academic dialogue on assessment design and highlight the need for more sophisticated policy and practice discussions within higher education assessment discourse.

Authors: Tarek, SA

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-mq6reeepj
• Type of award: MSc
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: backwash effects; higher education assessment; high-stake degree level assessment; washback effects
• Subjects: Educational Assessment