EVALUATING FINAL EXAMINATIONS AND THEIR WASHBACK EFFECT IN MOROCCAN TERTIARY EDUCATION: THREE DEPARTMENTS OF ENGLISH STUDIES AS A CASE STUDY

Anouar Mohamed El Kasri, Mohammed Larouz, Moulay Sadik Maliki, Imad Messouab, Abdelaziz Ouchaib

Abstract


The washback effect is one of the main principles of language assessment. The present study investigated the washback effect of university final exams in Morocco on learners’ study methods and content. 216 common core university students from Faculties of Letters and Humanities at three Moroccan Universities (Moulay Ismail University, Meknes; Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra; and Hassan II University, Casablanca) were asked to complete the Washback Effect Questionnaire developed by Hemmati and Soltanpour (2014) which consists of 20 five-point Likert scale items. The quantitative data of the questionnaire were descriptively analyzed using the SPSS program. The study results showed that the students’ studying methods and content in the departments of English studies in Moroccan Faculties of Letters and Humanities were influenced by final examinations. The exams were important for most learners who participated in the study and significantly influenced their studied content and methods.

 

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washback effect, final examinations, study methods, study content

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v12i1.5786

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