A Learning Washback Study Of A Diagnostic Writing Test

The impact of diagnostic assessments on learning has received increasing attention in recent years as it is an important indicator of the validity of diagnostic assessment.However,due to a lack of large-scale diagnostic assessment,few empirical studies investigated the validity of diagnostic feedback.With questionnaires and interviews as the research instruments to elicit quantitative and qualitative data,the subjects of the study were 120 students in one university in Nanjing,majored in English.This study addressed the issue of the washback of UDig diagnostic writing assessment for higher education.The research process is divided into three stages.The first stage mainly investigates how students evaluate writing diagnostic feedback reports.The second stage mainly investigates how students make use of the feedback report.The third stage compares evaluation and use to explore whether there is a mismatch,and if so,what are the reasons for the mismatch.Findings indicated that students considered the feedback reports as positive,and most of them were willing to use these reports which promoted students’ engagement of learning writing.The diagnostic report not only helped students to identify deficiencies,understand their writing level,but also enabled students to change learning content,adjust learning strategies,and clarify the learning goals.However,as a low-stake test,the washback intensity was noticeably weak,since most students did not,in reality,actively make use of the feedback reports.The study further found that students’ willingness to learn,their English proficiency,and the teacher’s guidance were important influencing factors.Finally,based on Shih’s(2007)model and research findings,this study further proposed a diagnostic assessment washback model of students’ learning.To improve the validity of diagnostic assessment and maximize the positive washback effect,this study put forward some recommendations for developing,designing,and using feedback reports.As an exploratory study,this study can enrich and provide a paradigm for the low-stake washback study.