An Investigation into the Effectiveness of the Adopted Strategies through Dynamic Assessment and Their Comparison with Reference to Washback Effect

In the current climate of testing practices, language assessment is expected to serve the purposes of testing and teaching alike. This ambition is most pronounced in Dynamic Assessment (DA), which consists in using a number of strategies during assessment, ranging from simple hints to detailed explanations. The present study aimed to specify, besides the effectiveness of the strategies, whether they affect learning equally and which one has the most positive effect on learning comparing others. To this end, using a pre-experimental research design, and applying a test–teach–retest paradigm, consistent with the interventionist approach to DA, intervention (teaching strategies) was performed in six phases in a group of 30 elementary students, who were randomly selected, to specify the effectiveness of the strategies. In the seventh session, employing a true-experimental design, 15 students received detailed score as one of the strategies supposed to have positive washback effect while the other 15 students were provided with other strategies (simple hints and different prompts). The analysis of t-tests indicated that all learners made score gains in posttests in all phases, however, the experimental group, who received detailed description of the test, benefited significantly compared to the control group, who received other strategies. As the strategies used during dynamic assessment and consequences of detailed score reporting can be beneficial for both testers and learners, this type of assessment and the given strategy is recommended. This study further discusses the significance of the findings in the context of testing and learning.

Keywords:

Dynamic Assessment , Language learning , Language testing , washback effect , interventionist approach