Wash-back effect of Iranian students’ pre-university English textbook and university entrance examinations: Teachers-based perspectives

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the possible wash-back effect of the university entrance exam as a high-stakes test and the pre-university English textbook. A 16-item teacher's perspective questionnaire was given to 40 female and male teachers teaching at pre-university schools in Education District No. One, Shiraz, Iran. The data obtained were subjected to SPSS version 17 using Chi-square test to be analyzed. The results showed alignment with those studies which supported the wash-back effect of the high-stakes exams on the teaching materials at different educational levels. Our EFL teachers’ perceptions in the study highlighted that the fourth-graders’ teachers mostly used supplementary materials geared toward university entrance exams’ demand, contrasting with the main textbook's educational objectives. Further pedagogical implications and suggestions for future research would follow.

Keywords: Wash-back, teaching materials, high-stakes tests, EFL teachers.

This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0