Abstract
Washback of diagnostic tools targeted to young migrant learners has been an under-researched area in the language assessment field. This paper explores teachers’ perceptions on the Greek Diagnostic Language Assessment (GDLA) tool recently introduced into the SL preparatory classes of the Cyprus primary education. The tool’s implementation coincides with the launch of a new SL curriculum. The objective is fourfold: (1) to examine GDLA’s washback effects on teaching/assessment, (2) to investigate washback’s variability with respect to several contextual variables, (3) to collect feedback on the perceived credibility of the tool, and (4) to reflect on the use of the GDLA tool as a lever of instructional reform in support of curricular innovation. The study employs a mixed-methods approach and draws on (a) quantitative data (questionnaire, 234 informants) and (b) qualitative data (interviews, 6 participants). The results indicate a positive and quite strong washback on teaching and assessment. However, they bring to the surface several misconceptions on the purpose and the implementation of diagnostic assessment, pointing to gaps in the teachers’ assessment literacy. They also bring into play school administration constraints. Finally, they imply that a diagnostic assessment aligned to a context-sensitive curriculum may bind the test to positive washback.
Highlights
Language assessment has been a major area of research in applied linguistics over the past 60 years (Davies 2014; Tsagari and Banerjee 2014)
The results reveal the teachers’ positive attitudes and perceptions towards Greek Diagnostic Language Assessment (GDLA) but at the same time they show that many other factors, beyond the test, might explain the washback effect, leading to several insights into the teachers’ assessment literacy
This study attempts to fill a gap in the literature by exploring the washback effects of diagnostic assessment on teaching and learning targeted to GAL young learners with a migrant background
Summary
Language assessment has been a major area of research in applied linguistics over the past 60 years (Davies 2014; Tsagari and Banerjee 2014). Recent initiatives taken worldwide signal a shift away from a narrow traditionally defined high-stakes focus to more holistic approaches, broadening our conception of assessment and even questioning the meaning of “high-stakes.”. In such a context, promising endeavors have recently been made that bring diagnostic language assessment into play (Alderson 2011; Lee 2015) and prompt us to reconsider the meaning of its stakes; compared with a national proficiency exam, diagnostic testing might be seen as low- or no-stakes, but screening efforts in an educational context are considered “high stakes” for both the individual and the schooling system (Bailey 2017).
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