Investigating Learner-Related Washback of the Senior High School English Matriculation Test: Evidence from Chengdu, China

High-stakes English examinations are closely connected to students’ learning experiences, particularly when examination results determine access to further educational opportunities. In China, much of the washback literature has concentrated on national or university-level English examinations, whereas less is known about how students experience washback from locally administered senior high school entrance examinations. This study focuses on the Senior High School Matriculation English Test (SHSMET) in Chengdu and examines four aspects of students’ examination-related experiences: student learning, motivation, test-taking strategies, and test anxiety.
The study used a quantitative cross-sectional design and involved 981 Grade 10 and Grade 11 students who had completed the SHSMET one or two years prior the survey. Their earlier experiences of preparing for the examination were collected retrospectively through an adapted Student Learning Questionnaire, selected Motivation and Test-Taking Strategies sub-scales from the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory, and an adapted Westside Test Anxiety Scale. Descriptive statistics were first used to examine students’ reported experiences, followed by partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to assess the relationships between the four learner-related factors and SHSMET performance.

Washback, SHSMET, High-stakes English assessment, Learner-related factors

1. Alderson, J. C., & Wall, D. (1993). Does washback exist? Applied Linguistics, 14(2), 115–129. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Anderson, N. J. (2002). The role of metacognition in second language teaching and learning. ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics. (ERIC Document No. ED463659). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Arthur, F., & Partey, P. A. (2023). Proposed model for washback effect of high-stakes test in Ghanaian senior high schools. Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 48(4), 90–104. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Bailey, K. M. (1996). Working for washback: A review of the washback concept in language testing. Language Testing, 13(3), 257–279. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Beaton, D. E., Bombardier, C., Guillemin, F., & Ferraz, M. B. (2000). Guidelines for the process of cross-cultural adaptation of self-report measures. Spine, 25(24), 3186–3191. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Bedeker, M. (2024). A critical view of National Senior Certificate examination discourse and First Additional Language writing tests. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 42(1), 1–16. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Borsa, J. C., Damásio, B. F., & Bandeira, D. R. (2012). Adaptação e validação de instrumentos psicológicos entre culturas: Algumas considerações. Paidéia (Ribeirão Preto), 22, 423–432. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Cheng, L. (2005). Changing language teaching through language testing: A washback study. Cambridge University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Cheng, L. (2008). The key to success: English language testing in China. Language Testing, 25(1), 15–37. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Cheng, L., & Watanabe, Y. (Eds.). (2004). Washback in language testing: Research contexts and methods. Routledge. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Dong, M., Fan, J., & Xu, J. (2023). Differential washback effects of a high-stakes test on students’ English learning process: Evidence from a large-scale stratified survey in China. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 43(1), 252–269. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Dong, M., & Liu, X. (2022). Impact of learners’ perceptions of a high-stakes test on their learning motivation and learning time allotment: A study on the washback mechanism. Heliyon, 8(12). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Driscoll, R. (2007). Westside Test Anxiety Scale validation (ERIC Document No. ED495968). Education Resources Information Center. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Etikan, I., Musa, S. A., & Alkassim, R. S. (2016). Comparison of convenience sampling and purposive sampling. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics, 5(1), 1–4. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Flavell, J. H. (1979). Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: A new area of cognitive-developmental inquiry. American Psychologist, 34(10), 906–911. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.34.10.906 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Green, A. (2007). Washback to learning outcomes: A comparative study of IELTS preparation and university pre-sessional language courses. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 14(1), 75–97. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Green, A. (2020). Washback in language assessment. In C. A. Chapelle (Ed.), The encyclopedia of applied linguistics. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal1274.pub2 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2017). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (2nd ed.). SAGE. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Hambleton, R. K., Merenda, P. F., & Spielberger, C. D. (Eds.). (2004). Adapting educational and psychological tests for cross-cultural assessment. Psychology Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Hasanudin, H., Akib, M., Said, E., Wael, A., & Hartanti, R. (2023). Students’ motivation in reading test responses: Washback effect on learning in higher education. KnE Social Sciences, 54–71. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Hung, S. T. A., & Huang, H. T. D. (2019). Standardized proficiency tests in a campus-wide English curriculum: A washback study. Language Testing in Asia, 9(1), 21. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Kutlu, M. O., Demiroglari, G., & Demiroglari, B. (2020). Washback effect of Higher Education Institution Exam—Foreign Language Test on university candidates’ attitudes. African Educational Research Journal, 8, 121–130. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Phakiti, A. (2003). A closer look at the relationship of cognitive and metacognitive strategy use to EFL reading achievement test performance. Language Testing, 20(1), 26–56. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Piaget, J. (1950). The psychology of intelligence. Routledge & Kegan Paul. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: Classic definitions and new directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 54–67. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2020). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation from a self-determination theory perspective: Definitions, theory, practices, and future directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 61, 101860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101860 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Sarason, I. G. (1984). Stress, anxiety, and cognitive interference: Reactions to tests. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46(4), 929–938. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Schraw, G., & Dennison, R. S. (1994). Assessing metacognitive awareness. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 19(4), 460–475. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Song, J. (2023). Assessing for learning in middle school English language classrooms in China [Doctoral dissertation, University of Glasgow]. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. Spratt, M. (2005). Washback and the classroom: The implications for teaching and learning of studies of washback from exams. Language Teaching Research, 9(1), 5–29. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. Tsang, C. L., & Isaacs, T. (2022). Hong Kong secondary students’ perspectives on selecting test difficulty level and learner washback: Effects of a graded approach to assessment. Language Testing, 39(2), 212–238. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. von der Embse, N., & Hasson, R. (2012). Test anxiety and high-stakes test performance between school settings: Implications for educators. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 56(3), 180–187. https://doi.org/10.1080/1045988X.2011.633285 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

33. von der Embse, N., Jester, D., Roy, D., & Post, J. (2018). Test anxiety effects, predictors, and correlates: A 30-year meta-analytic review. Journal of Affective Disorders, 227, 483–493. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

34. Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

35. Wall, D. (2012). Washback in language assessment. In C. A. Chapelle (Ed.), The encyclopedia of applied linguistics. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal1274 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

36. Weinstein, C. E., Palmer, D. R., & Acee, T. W. (2016). Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI): User’s manual (3rd ed.). H&H Publishing. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

37. Wine, J. D. (1980). Cognitive-attentional theory of test anxiety. In I. G. Sarason (Ed.), Test anxiety: Theory, research, and applications (pp. 349–385). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

38. Xie, Q. (2020). Structural relationship between learners’ perceptions of a test, learning practices, and learning outcomes: A study on the washback mechanism of a high-stakes test. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 64, 100824. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

39. Xie, Q., & Andrews, S. (2013). Do test design and uses influence test preparation? Testing a model of washback with structural equation modeling. Language Testing, 30(1), 49–70. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

40. Yang, R. (2020). Grammar and vocabulary testing in the senior high school entrance English test in China: A washback study from a learning-oriented assessment perspective [Doctoral dissertation, Queensland University of Technology]. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

41. Zhang, H., & Bournot-Trites, M. (2021). The long-term washback effects of the National Matriculation English Test on college English learning in China: Tertiary student perspectives. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 68, 100977. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2021.100977 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

42. Zhao, J. (2016). The reform of the National Matriculation English Test and its impact on the future of English in China: Will English lose its predominance in the Chinese foreign language landscape? English Today, 32(2), 38–44. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Examine Sleep Deprivation among Adolescents: Evidence from a Selected Chinese High School in Johor, Malaysia
• Effectiveness of Learning PEMDAS through Game-Based Learning for Primary Students
• Socioeconomic Background and Self-Efficacy as Predictors of Emotional Resilience among In-School Adolescents in Abeokuta, Nigeria
• Muguka Related Activities on Students’ Self-Acceptance Levels in Mbeere South Sub County, Embu County, Kenya
• Emotional Neglect and Students’ Academic Performnce in Secondary Schools in Delta North Senatorial District