Alla Baksh, M. A., Mohd Sallehhudin, A. A., Tayeb, Y. A. & Norhaslinda, H.

“ Washback Effect of School-

based English Language Assessment: A Case-Study on Students’ Perceptions.” Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 24
(3): 1087 - 1104 (2016).

Evaluation of Washback Effect of School-based English Language Assessment

Wan Fakhrurrazi Wan Omar

Master of English Language Teaching.

Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia

ABSTRACT

Many researches have been done lately upon the washback effect of school-based English Language
assessment and the researches have provided many views. Among the views there are several studies
that have been conducted by the researchers which involving empirical studies. One of them is
‘Student’s Perception and Readiness on School Based Assessment’ which using the method of
surveying. However, in this paper, the author has argued about the evaluation of washback effect of
school-based English Language assessment. The researcher has revised and commented of the
washback effect upon the implementation of KBSM up to KSSM in which the implementation is in
the lower secondary schools. The strengths and benefits that the product of KBSM had given to
Malaysia and the brave turning point that has been made by Malaysian Education Ministry to provide
malaysian students and teachers with the new skills and up to worlds’ challenges. This evaluation of
washback effect of school-based English Language assessment has also reviewed on the perceptions of
students and teachers towards the SBA implementation during the early years of implementations.

Keywords : assessment, researcher, perception, evaluation, washback effects

INTRODUCTION
Washback effect of school-based English Language assessment has been tremendously
discussed lately among educators and practitioners in Malaysia. It is the assessment to
evaluate back of the effects of the implementations of the school-based assessments. Before
the implementation of school-based assessments, it was the implementation of KBSM which
was preceding the education system in Malaysia. It has no wrong with previous system of
education but rather to confront the challenging that world has made up to us. Previous
system of education had produced many intelligent students like doctors, engineers, teachers
and others in its ways of KBSM system. However, for the sake of education system
nowadays, the education system need to be shifted to be more effective in a way that our
students in Malaysia has to be more productive and selective of what world may offer to
themselves in the future. Evaluation of washback effect of school-based English Language
assessment is now will be discussed later in this critical review and the readers can see the
argumentations and evaluate further of what the author may say about washback effect. The
students and educators may see the relevants of the implementation of school-based
assessments in schools regardless of secondary schools or even at universities’ level. The
implementation of school-based assessments are currently upon the teachers who assess and
evaluate their students at very best. The teachers who teach the students have the right to
assess and evaluate their students because they know more about their students’ capabilities
and strengths compared to those who are not teaching them. The school-based assessment is
not like previous system which was KBSM system more towards centralized examinations.
During the implementation of this system (KBSM), eventhough the teachers are the ones who
teach the students but they have no right to assess and evaluate their own students. The
teachers who do not teach them will evaluate them and give them grades. The system was also
more centralized in which all the examinations have the setting dates and all students who
eligible for the tests must occupy the tests at the same time. All over Malaysia, the tests have
to be centralized. Now, the tests are still centralized but the implementations of those
examinations are different. Counting from UPSR and now is called PPSR, PT3 has been
changed from PMR and SPM is still relevant until today, all of these examinations have been
revolutionized. The implementations of these examinations or tests have been changed from
all centralized to be partially centralized. For example: PT3 examination has four
components: 1- Centralized Assessment 2- Psychometric Assessment 3- PAJSK Assessment
(psysical activities and co-curricular activities) 4- PBD (classroom assessment). All of these
components are included to be assessed as an outcome of examination. Successful in these
four components will determine whether the students are eligible to which upper secondary
schools. The more successful students in four components, the more they will get better
secondary schools in Malaysia.

VALUE OF SCHOOL BASED ASSESSMENT IN MALAYSIA

In today’s reality, many education systems have the examination questions constructed by
policymakers who do not teach the subject and teachers who teach the subject, not being
directly involved in constructing the exam questions. Notwithstanding, the stakeholders at
both macro (policymakers) and micro (teachers and students) levels should make every effort
to harmonize the relationship between the curriculum, teaching and learning activities and the
assessments which may lead the stakeholders in achieving positive washback (Shohamy et al.,
1996).
 However, with the implementation of KBSM system, it did not support the education
system which was supposed to be. Like has been discussed above, the education system
during KBSM just evaluate the students whom they did not teach and the questions
constructed did not directly involved of the teachers who teach the subjects. Hence, it merely
assess and evaluate the superficial knowledge of students.
Therefore, education specialists around the world in realising the shortcomings of such
one-off standardised tests have gradually begun looking into the gaps identified in the
approaches of assessments employed in the 20th and addressing them in 21st century. “While
the former pursued the evidence at the end of the learning process (summative), the
international agenda for twenty first century is the recognition of using assessment for
learning purposes (formative)” (Berry, 2011).
In addressing to what the students of our time need today and also in recognition of
using assessment for learning purposes, it is important to have a system that can cater all the
needs of students and assessment for learning purposes. It could be said as just not merely in
intellectual domains but rather to have in physical and also spiritual learnings. All domains
are included and being taught and stressed in education system, therefore, we can produce
comprehensive students.
According to an editor, Suzanne (2014), education is the essential act of sharing skills
and knowledge with our fellow human beings, particularly those who stand to inherit and
define the future. Language teachers make a vital contribution to primary education: they are
likely the first to introduce students to different ways of living, thinking, being, and
communicating. They lay the groundwork for global citizenship and equip students to
contribute within their local communities and in a larger, more diverse society.
As a way in reducing of the powers of the examinations and to have school based
assessment to take place, therefore, Malaysian Education Ministry has taken very brave
turning point to shift eduacational system from KBSM system to KSSM system. It is to cater
the needs of our malaysian students nowadays in order to be not into exam-oriented but more
towards learning of meaning of living, thinking and well-being.
Shohamy (1991) argued that the use of tests for power and control is a very common
practice in countries which the educational systems are centralized: the curriculum is
controlled by central agencies. Malaysia is one of these countries which controls its
curriculum, teaching and learning, and assessment through MES and MEC. The government’s
intention of implementing SBA is to promote real learning of the subject matters among the
students instead of rote-learning and memorization (MES, 2014).
 System of memorization has to be eliminated from education system and if the
Ministry of Education cannot do the total elimination, then the ministry would slowly take it
away by the implementation of the SBA system. Many students would have their own stresses
when it comes to the exam-oriented system. Therefore, the beginning of implementation of
the SBA is to lesser the stresses and burdens of the students.
However, given the stakes attached to assessments at different levels along with the
society’s (macro-level stakeholders) faith in teachers grading their own students without fear
and favor, the Malaysian government had to choose the lower levels of education namely
primary and lower-secondary levels in implementing an entirely school-based assessment in
which the role of central agencies is minimized but the teachers’ role as assessors is increased
(Alla Baksh, Sallehhudin, Tayeb & Norhaslinda, 2016).

TYPES OF ASSESSMENTS IN SCHOOLS

The assessment reform undertaken by Malaysia is a synergistic school-based assessment at
the lower-secondary level (MES, 2014) in which four assessment components are contained
within the new Form 3 assessment system. They are:
i.Form 3 (central) Assessment ii. School Assessment iii. Physical Activities, Sports and Co-
curriculum, and; iv. Psychometric Assessment.

These assessments of SBA of secondary schools in Malaysia have been implemented

to all secondary schools. From this implementation upon the students, the teachers will know
about what students need for their future and their inclinations towards the subjects taken in
the assessments. Therefore, teachers can channel the students to what they are capable of and
what they wanted to be for life in the future.

The first two assessments are categorized under the academic component whereas the
other two are non-academic ones. At the end of the lower-secondary level, students now are
provided with four different forms of results representing each component of the broad
school-based assessment. The non-academic component of the school-based assessment is,
however, beyond the scope of this paper (Alla Baksh, Sallehhudin, Tayeb & Norhaslinda,
2016).

Though the non-academic component of the school based assessment is not discussed
in the washback review, however, it can be briefly touched by the author on the non-academic
component. This non-academic component which are called as psychometric assessment and
PAJSK assessment is considered as the important component to be accounted for. These two
components are to measure of what the inclinations of the students would be so as the
teachers can channel them according to the capabilities.

The Form 3 (central) Assessment is a summative paper-and-pencil test which involves

an evaluation of all four language skills. Hence, it is assessment of learning as it comes at the
end of the term. The MES provides the schools nationwide with sets of question papers to
choose from (comparative standards). Teachers grade the exam scripts of their own students
by strictly adhering to the guidelines provided by the ministry. It is, however, worth noting
here that the previous assessment (PMR) focused mainly on the reading and writing skills
only (Alla Baksh, Sallehhudin, Tayeb & Norhaslinda, 2016).

The school assessment on the other hand is a combination of formative and summative
components. Three aspects are contained within the school assessment: assessment for
learning, assessment of learning and assessment as learning. Researchers (Black et al., 2003,
as cited in Yu, 2010) have opined that while raising students’ achievement is the first priority
of assessment for learning, it also involves teachers in multiple formal and informal
assessment methods such as unit tests, quizzes, oral presentations, listening activities and
homework to judge the quality of their students’ learning against a set criteria or standards. In
this regard, the MES has provided the teachers with a band scale of 1 to 6 in which 1 indicates
weak and 6 indicates advanced learners (Alla Baksh, Sallehhudin, Tayeb & Norhaslinda,
2016).

These summative and formative assessments have been touched as among the types of
assessments in secondary schools. These are rather school assessments. However, in this
paper, the author focuses on the types of assessments that have been implemented towards the
SBA assessments which are academic component and non-academic component.

PERCEPTION UPON WASHBACK OF SCHOOL BASED ASSESSMENT (SBA)

According to Alla Baksh, Sallehhudin, Tayeb & Norhaslinda (2016), it was argued in
empirical washback studies that the perceptions of the key stakeholders (teachers and
students) were among the significant factors which greatly influenced the teaching and
learning activities in classrooms. Yu (2010) in her study on the washback effect of the school-
based oral assessment reported that the students had little knowledge of school-based
assessment and they did not perceive any benefits that SBA claims to bring to learning
(teacher feedback and peer-assessment).
 It has been stated above that SBA has proposed the perceptions to the students as well
as to the teachers. According to Yu (2010), the teachers have little knowledge on how to
implement of the SBA in schools. Therefore, it is sort of need more explanations and
descriptions on how to spread and implement the SBA in secondary schools.

School-Based Assessment (SBA) was implemented in Malaysia in stages, starting

with form one secondary school students in 2012. After a few years of implementation, the
SBA has raised many concerns among educational practitioners nationwide. Previous studies
highlighted several implications due to perception and readiness of the stakeholders, leaving
much room for improvement of SBA implementation in several countries. Hence, this study
was conducted to investigate students’ perception and readiness concerning the SBA
implementation (Alias & Nur Ain, 2016).
Considering the standards-referenced school-based assessment recently introduced by
the Malaysian government at the lower-secondary level to promote learning, an investigation
into the perceptions and attitudes of students in relation to the new assessment system is
therefore necessary. The paucity of students’ perspectives on the washback effect as reported
in the literature internationally (Hamp-Lyons, 2000; Stoneman, 2006; Shih, 2009).
The survey study was conducted among 336 lower secondary school students located
in different geographical areas. The data were collected using questionnaire and were
analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The result indicates that the students have
moderate perception and readiness for SBA, and there is no difference between urban and
suburban school students. It has been found that students were not serious when faced with
SBA assessment components and not well prepared for continuous assessment. The
implication is that students in form one in secondary school should be well informed of the
SBA system implementation, so that they understand the impact of SBA on their final grade.
Generally, the implementation of SBA throughout of the schooling system will benefit the
students and the country development, but must through a careful planning (Alias & Nur Ain,
2016).
As a result of perception of students as well as teachers upon washback of school
based assessment (SBA), there was the survey study conducted by Alias & Nur Ain claimed
that many students from urban and suburban areas were not ready for school based
assessment. There were no difference between urban and suburban areas in the tabulation
survey. The result indicates that they have moderate perceptions towards SBA. Hence, the
spreads and explanations on school based assessment must be exaggerated a lot more so that
the readiness towards SBA are considerably countable high.
CONCLUSION
Despite all the discussions and researches have been done and its empirical studies are
continuosly been tested of its relevants towards nowadays education system, however, the
evaluation of washback effect of SBA would be of the one contribution. Starting from the
evaluation of KBSM, the contribution of KBSM towards Malaysian Education System and
move forward to SBA or is called as KSSM, it is the system that regulates on education
system. The system of exam oriented before during KBSM has come with many
commentations from many people especially teachers and parents when the education
ministry has made the decision to shift the educational system from KBSM to KSSM. Many
reactions have coming down and even on television also has promoted of the good
implementation of the KSSM or SBA. The school assessment is divided into two which are
formative and summative. However, in this paper of evaluation of washback effect of SBA
has focused on the four types of assessments: 1- Classroom Assessment 2- Psychometric
Assessment 3- PAJSK Assessment and 4- Centralized Assessment. Later, the author has
discussed about the perceptions of students and teachers upon washback effect of school-
based assessment and its empirical study that has been conducted by students of University of
Tun Hussein Onn. The perceptions of the students from urban and suburban have no
difference and there are not much inclinations towards SBA during the early years of
implementations. As a conclusion of whole, the evaluation of washback effect of SBA has put
the discussions and revised the effects of education systems (KBSM and KSSM) into more
applicable ideas and therefore, it is hoped that the contribution will worth the time and
researches have been made by the researchers, educators and practitioners.
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