A Study On The Washback Effect Of NMET Reading Test On Senior High School English Reading Teaching And Learning

Washback effect of language testing refers to the influence of tests on teachingand learning, whose influence may be positive and beneficial or negative and harmful.Many scholars at home and abroad are all very concerned about washback effects oftesting, and they put forward many theoretical hypotheses, which were made on thebasis of scientific empirical research, especially those of large-scale and high-stakeexams, such as, TOEFL, IELTS, CET4&6, etc.The National Matriculation English Test (NMET), our large-scale selectiveexamination, which is considered to be the strictest and the fairest exam in the currentdomestic exams, has drawn great attention of the whole society. But the empiricalresearch on the washback effect of NMET is insufficient, and the empirical researchabout reading comprehension tests of senior high school English teaching andlearning is even less. Therefore，the author of this paper makes a deep and detailedresearch about senior high school English testing, especially the washback effect onsenior high school reading teaching and learning from NMET, in order to promote thepositive washback effect of senior high school English teaching and learning, and toavoid negative washback effects from NMET.The paper mainly studies how teachers and students understand NMET and itswashback effect, what the current situation of senior high school English classroomteaching is like, what influences NMET English reading test has on teaching andlearning, and how to improve the positive washback effect of NMET and avoid itsnegative washback effect. The author of this paper conducts quantitative andqualitative empirical research through questionnaire survey, classroom observation,and face-to-face interview. Research subjects of the paper are from senior high schoolEnglish teachers and students in Liaoning Province. The author gives out300questionnaires in total and interviews some teachers and students who have taken partin the questionnaire survey. In addition, the paper also analyzes and studies a largeamount of literature at home and abroad, and it has a deep understanding of therelevant theoretical and empirical researches.Research results of the paper show that NMET English reading test has apositive washback effect on senior high school English reading teaching and learningas a whole, but it still has some negative washback effect. NMET has influences onallocation of teaching time, teaching model, teaching content, teaching strategy, the scope, width and breath of teaching, achievement evaluation and so on. At the sametime, NMET also makes teachers think deeply about testing. Direct participants ofNMET---teachers and students---do not have clear and timely feedback of testresults, and they cannot conduct a sound self-assessment of the test results. Teachersand students do not pay enough attention to activating background knowledge andincreasing learning interest. These two points reflect the inactive washback effect ofNMET reading test. So, we can further improve exam arrangement, raise the qualityof exam paper, and mainly adopt real materials that are close to life, improve scoringprinciples and comprehensive feedback for teachers and students to consult with.