Examining Teacher-Related Factors in Washback: A Study of Moroccan EFL High-Stakes Examination

Abstract

The current study aimed to investigate the nature of the relationship between the washback effect produced by a national high-stakes examination, currently implemented in the Moroccan EFL context, and three teacher-related factors, namely: gender, academic qualification, and teaching experience. The study adopted a quantitative approach. The data were gathered through a close-ended questionnaire completed by 316 high school teachers. The collected data were analyzed using inferential statistics with SPSS software (version 26). The results of the study revealed that gender and academic qualification had no effect on how teachers perceived the washback effects of the exam on their instructional practices. However, the intensity of the washback effects was to a lesser extent influenced by the mediating factor: teaching experience. The study provides valuable insights into the critical role of teacher experience in shaping washback intensity, which shows that washback from high-stakes tests does not occur automatically as a direct consequence of the test itself. This suggests that teaching experience and other factors may also play a role in mediating washback and hence warrant further investigation. The study offers significant implications for secondary education in Morocco.