The Effects of the Frequency of TOEFL iBT as Quizzes on Real-life Reading Comprehension Tasks: The Discourse in Focus

Abstract

Washback has become an increasingly prevalent and prominent phenomenon in education - what is assessed becomes what is valued, which becomes what is taught. Although many researchers suggest frequent tests as a means of positive washback, others oppose this idea. But what is clear is that many scholars have attempted to provide guidelines in order to achieve positive washback. The present study tried to investigate the effects of the frequency of TOEFL iBT as Quizzes on students’ real-life L2 reading comprehension tasks. The participants of this study were 201 intermediate Iranian language students who were randomly selected and divided into three groups. The first group received 10 TOEFL iBT Reading Comprehension tests, i.e. one Reading Comprehension test for every unit of their textbook every session. The second group received five TOEFL iBT Reading Comprehension tests, i.e. one test for every two units of the same textbook every other session. The third group received no tests at all. The performance of the subjects showed that frequent TOEFL iBT Reading Comprehension tests had positive effect on learning. Better performance of the group who received fewer tests revealed that although giving tests was associated with better performance, the amount of improvement (t-observed) was reduced from 14.4 to 11.26 as the number of tests was increased.