The Washback Effect of the Baccalaureate Examination on Teaching Practices The Case of Third year Secondary School

Abstract

The influence of tests has been an issue of concern for many scholars and researchers particularly in the field of language- testing and it is commonly known as washback. Washback is of great importance in language- testing, as itay affect the whole teaching and learning act, which can be determined either positive or negative. Numerous studies have explored the way high stakes exam influence and often guide the teaching and learning process in the classroom. The present study is an attempt to investigate the washback effect of the Baccalaureate Exam of English on teaching practices including the type of activities, methods, strategies, and the materials being used inside the classroom. A mixed research was followed to achieve the above aime. A combination of classroom observations in Belhouchet Cherif secondary school, Zin Mouhammed Ben Rabeh secondary school, and 8 Mai 1945 secondary school in which six sessions were attended and the period for each is one hour, and a questionnaire administered to 15 teachers from the same schools were employed as data collection instruments. The data gathered by these tools showed that the teaching practices in non examination classes differ from those followed in examination classes. This can be explained by the existence of washback effect of the examination. In addition to that, the findings proved that the teaching practices were influenced both positively and negatively. On the basis of those results, some recommendations were suggested.