Abstract
Research has helped us understand that high stakes tests can have some sort of influence at the micro level on classroom practice and activity. To date, much variation has been reported. This paper discusses washback in second language (L2) education contexts and specifically the teacher factor in classroom activity. It draws on four areas of research: washback research in second language (L2) and general education, the teacher factor in washback, alignment of assessment internal and external to the classroom, and mixed methods research. It provides teacher case study examples from a larger study probing into teacher practice and beliefs when dealing with a new high stakes English as a second language (ESL) provincial exit exam at the high school level. The participants are from the population of ESL secondary teachers in the French school system in the province of Quebec in Canada. The main research question is: How do teachers mediate between classroom assessment activity and preparing students for upcoming external exams? Results indicate that teachers used common overall approaches, but that there was variation in individual practice. When first introduced to the new exam material, teachers used a formative assessment approach. As the exam time neared, their practice evolved into a summative assessment approach. This phenomenon demonstrated an interfacing or ‘blurring’ of formative and summative assessment in an attempt to align classroom and external exam assessment. Implications are discussed pertaining to a coherent education system across curriculum, teaching, learning and assessment.
