Professionalism and High-Stakes Tests: Teachers’ Perspectives When Dealing With Educational Change Introduced Through Provincial Exams

Abstract

The effect of high-stakes tests on classroom activity (commonly called washback) is an issue that is receiving heightened attention in the literature. It is yet one more element that teachers need to deal with in their professional contexts. This article focuses on the perspectives of ESL secondary teachers as they experience curriculum innovations introduced into the educational system via provincial exams. Survey results from 153 teachers are reported. The survey is part of a larger washback study that also triangulated classroom observation and teachers’ and students’ perception data in a longitudinal study. The survey results suggest that teachers would like to do their part in moving the system into a position where curriculum, their teaching and assessment, and the system’s high-stakes exam correspond. They achieve this, however, according to their beliefs and professional stances, which may not present a unified performance across teachers.