A Brief Review of Washback Studies in the South Asian Countries

Abstract

Influence of tests on teaching and learning, which is known as washback, has garnered attention among the researchers and scholars because of the ever-growing testing industry worldwide. Scores of the high stakes language tests are increasingly used as the gatekeeper to higher education, better employment or immigration to a different country. Acknowledging the importance of studying the influence of test, several washback studies have been conducted in the past 20 years targeting various aspects of how tests influence teaching and learning. However, washback research lacks critical input from the extreme test-oriented South Asian countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka), where tests have an immense influence on all levels of stakeholders. Therefore, this paper systematically reviews the limited studies conducted in this region to explore the nature of washback in its local contexts as well as to reveal the research gaps for future washback researchers.