An Investigation Of The Washback Effect Of Tem4:From The Perspective Of Test Preparation

The present study reported an empirical study that examined the washback effect of TEM4 on students’ learning from the perspective of test preparation. 220 English majors from one university were chosen as the sample. A semi-structured group interview and a questionnaire were employed to collect data concerning students’ perceptions of TEM4 and their test preparation practices. Exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression were employed in the data analysis. The results of exploratory factor analysis revealed three kinds of test preparation practices: rehearsing test-taking skills, drilling, and general language learning. General language learning was found to be the least frequently adopted test preparation activity. Multiple regression results suggested that students’ starting language proficiency was the only statistically significant predictor of their test performance. It could explain 45% of the variance of TEM4 test score. However, test preparation didn’t appear as the statistically significant predictor of students’ TEM4 score. This, to some extent, lends some support to the score validity of TEM4.