Washback effect of Turkish foreign language proficiency exam YDS: A scale development study

Abstract

Investigating the possible washback effect of Foreign Language Proficiency Exam called YDS could provide valuable data regarding how test-takers feel about taking this exam. This study aims to design a scale and collect data regarding the possible washback effect of YDS. In the initial phase, with the help of 6 academicians from ELT and testing disciplines, a preliminary draft of an attitude scale was developed. Secondly, the scale was piloted in order to carry out exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Thirdly, the newly developed scale’s psychometric qualities (validity and reliability) were measured. After it was confirmed that the scale which had 4 factors and 13 items was a valid and reliable tool, the data including the views of Turkish academicians were gathered focusing on the washback effect of the YDS via this scale in the final phase. The overall data of this study were collected from 84 state universities with the contribution of 2683 academicians from different disciplines. The findings revealed that YDS has negative backwash effect on Turkish academicians in terms of certain sub-categories including test strategy, motivation, perception and test taker’s psychology.

Keywords

• Washback effect; foreign language testing; high stake tests; YDS; proficiency tests; test impact; exploratory factor analysis; confirmatory factor analysis

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