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92 

 

 
ELT FORUM 6 (1) (2017) 

 

Journal of English Language Teaching 

 
http://journal.unnes.ac.id/sju/index.php/elt 

 
 

WASHBACK ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS’ 

PERCEPTION AND TEACHERS’ TEACHING 

MATERIAL OF ENGLISH NATIONAL 

EXAMINATION 2017 

 

 

Khilma Nahdia  
 

English Department, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia  

 

Article Info 
________________  
Article History: 

Received in June 

2017  
Approved in July 2017 

Published in August 2017 
________________  
Keywords: washback, 
teaching material, 
perception, national 
examination.  
  
____________________ 

 
Abstract  
___________________________________________________________________ 
This final project is intended to investigate the washback of the English national examination based on the 

students‟ perception and teachers‟ teaching material. The research used descriptive qualitative methods as 

its research methodology. The study shows that the national examination brings positive and negative 

effects to both students and teachers. For the students, the national examination triggers them to study 

harder than usual. Nevertheless, the national examination still makes the students anxious due to its 

usefulness as the consideration of their next school level entrance, which, consequently, makes them give 

more attention only to the subjects tested in the national examination. Furthermore, for the teachers, the 

national examination makes them work hard to supply the students with various media, methods, and 

books in the teaching-learning process in order to make the students getting ready to face the national 

examination. Nonetheless, the national examination that only tested the reading and writing skills makes 

the teachers do not teach the English skills material equally. In conclusion, the washback of the English 

national examination in SMP N 12 Semarang shows the indication of both positive and negative 

washback effects of the national examination. 

  
 © 2017 Universitas Negeri Semarang 

  


 Correspondent Address: ISSN 2252-6706 
B3 Building FBS Unnes  

Sekaran, Gunungpati, Semarang, 50229  

E-mail: unnes_english@yahoo.com  



K. Nahdia / Journal of English Language Teaching 6 (1) (2017) 

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INTRODUCTION 

National exam is a national test held by the government which designed to examine students‟ 

performance or competence (Bharati, 

2007). However, the national examination has always been a hot topic every year. The 

implementation  of  the  national  examination that started firstly in 1950 until now has changed 

several times, from its format until its function for the students. However, this year, in 2017, the idea 

of the national examination moratorium   was   appeared   by   considering some harmful effects 

brought with it. One of the effects is the school citizens that put the national examination into a very 

important test which, as a result, makes the school gives a special treatment to the national 

examination subjects. 

However, there are several reasons why students and teachers put the national examination as 

an important test. It happens due to the fact that even though nowadays the national examination is 

no longer used as the students‟ graduation determiner, it is still used as the students‟  determiner for 

continuing to the next school level. Therefore, the important role of the national examination for 

Indonesian students  makes  it  categorized as  Indonesian high-stakes test. According to Madaus 

(1988) in  Pizarro  (2010),  high  stake  test  is  a  test which affects the test-takers and the other 

people concerned significantly. Johnson et al. (2008) in Polesel, Duffer, & Turnbull (2012) define 

high stakes tests in the United States as 

a test that affects the  students‟  success, the teacher accountability, and the schools‟ 

reputation or the schools‟ funding. Therefore, it can be concluded that a high stake test is a test 

which has significant consequences for the success of the students. 

However, the consequences of the national examination can be categorized into positive and 

negative consequences, just like what Tayeb et al. (2014) say about the high stake test. According to 

them, high-stakes test is a test that has serious implications directly and significantly to the micro 

and macro stakeholders which result is seen both positively and negatively. It can be said that a high 

stake test can bring effects, both positive and negative result, to the schools‟ citizen. Moreover, the 

positive and negative effects of a   test   are,   however,   widely   known   as washback. 

Washback, or also known as backwash, is the testing on teaching and learning effect (Hughes, 

1989, p. 1). In the next study, Green (2013) defines washback as test effect of a test preparation on 

the teaching and learning. According to Brown (2004), washback refers to the test effects on the 

instructions of  the  students  test  preparation. Furthermore, Bachman and Palmer (1996) define 

washback as the impact aspects that particularly  attract  both  researchers  of language testing and 

practitioners. Moreover, Shohamy,    as    cited    in    Bailey    (1999) summarizes four key 

definitions that are useful in understanding the washback concept: 

1. Washback effect refers to the impact that tests have on teaching and learning; 

2. Measurement driven instruction refers to the notion that tests should drive learning; 

3. Curriculum alignment focuses on the connection between testing and the teaching 

syllabus; and  

4. Systemic validity  implies  the  integration  of  tests into the educational system and 

the need to demonstrate that the introduction of test can improve learning. Tests can 

also have effects beyond the classroom. The wider effects of tests on the community 

as a whole, including the school, are referred to as test impact. 

In conclusion, based on the definitions above, it can be concluded that washback is an effect 

of testing on teaching and learning process in the classroom in order to prepare the test itself. 

Moreover, as an effect of tests, washback certainly has two sides, whether it is positive or 

negative, depending on whether it has a beneficial or harmful impact on educational practices. It is 

in line with the statement from Wall and Alderson (1993) that defines   washback  as   a   test   that   



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can   be powerful determiners of things happen in the classroom, both positively and negatively. 

However, Messick (1996) define washback as a serious influence of a test to the language teachers 

and learners for doing things they will not crucially otherwise do which promote or inhibit language 

learning. Therefore, from the saying, it can be concluded that washback as test effect can be 

powerful determiners that influence what teachers and learners do both positively and negatively. 

Furthermore, according to Pearson (1988) in Cheng (2004), the washback effect of a test will 

bring a negative effect if it is unable to reflect the learning principles and course objectives to which 

the test supposedly relates; and it will bring a positive effect if the effects are advantageous and 

encourage the whole range of desired changes. Alderson and Wall (1993), on the other hand, stress 

that the quality of the washback effect might be independent of the quality of a test. Any test, a good 

one or a bad one, may bring beneficial or detrimental washback effects result. 

However, a few years ago, in 2007, Sukyadi made a study about washback of the national 

examination in Indonesian content. During this year, the national examination was still used as 

students‟ graduation determiner. Therefore, when the students could not pass the exam, they would 

be stated not graduate from   the   school.   Furthermore,   the   study showed that the washback 

effect brought positive and negative washback to the school‟s citizens. This fact, as a result, brought 

much anxiety to the students by thinking how to be able to graduate from the school. The pressure 

that the students get, in the end, made students did many things to be able to graduate from the 

school whether in a positive way or in a negative way. 

Nevertheless, nowadays, the national examination is no longer used as graduation 

determiner. Started in 2016, the students‟ consideration for being stated graduate from a school is 

determined by their behavior in the school and  their  score  in  the  school  report card. It is no 

longer used the score of the National Examination for the graduation determiner. 

The fact is that the national examination is no longer used as  graduation determiner. 

Therefore, it built a question for the researcher. If the national examination is not used as graduation 

determiner anymore, does it  still impact the students as much as it did years ago? 

The question appeared motivates the researcher to conduct a research about washback of the 

English National Examination with Junior High School students as her subject. The study is 

intended to find the washback of the English national examination for the students‟ perception and 

teachers teaching material of SMP N 12 Semarang, the school that the researcher chose as her study 

place. 

METHODOLOGY OF THE RESEARCH 

In this study, the researcher uses a descriptive qualitative method as her research 

methodology.   In   a   qualitative   method,   it utilizes certain methodologies and procedures to 

generate qualitative data in the forms of words, either spoken or written. 

Qualitative research is a means for exploring and understanding the meaning individuals or 

groups ascribe to a social or human problem. (Creswell, 2009, p. 4). According to Glass & Hopkins 

(1984) as cited by  Trisanti  (2016)  descriptive research  is  a research method that involves 

collecting data that describe events and then organizes, tabulates, depicts, and describe the data 

collection.  Furthermore, according to Arikunto (2010), the appropriate method for qualitative 

research is a mix of various data resources and method (multi method of data collection). For that 

reason, in her study, the writer did some data collection methods such as observation, interview, 

questionnaire, and also documentation for having a complete data collection. 

The researchwas arang in academic year 2016/2017.  Firstly the researcher observed the 

school’s area.  She looked in detail about the school’s surroundings that might affect students’ 

pleasant of studying there. After did the observation, the writer interviewed the random ninth grade 



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students of the school from class A until class H (two students from each class) and also the English 

teachers who teach ninth grade.  Then, to obtain more in-depth information, the writer gave a 

questionnaire to the same students and teachers who had been interviewed before. Furthermore, 

during the data collecting methods, the researcher also documented the book that the teachers used 

as their teaching material to support their teaching before and after the national examination 

preparation.  

RESULT AND DISCUSSION 

Washback of the English National Examination based on the Students’ Perception 

According to the data collected from the  interview  and  the  questionnaire  that  is given to 

the students, it shows that based on the students‟ perception, the washback of the English national 

examination happens in SMP N 12 Semarang are both positive and negative washback. 

According to Pan (2009), positive washback happens when a test can motivate students to 

work harder to have a sense of accomplishment and enhance learning. Moreover, in this research, 

the positive washback of the national examination is indicated by the students‟ statements that the 

national examination makes them study harder than they usually do. They admit that in the class, 

they pay their full attention to the teachers; which they do not usually do when they were in the 

eight and seven grades. In addition, in their house, they study by doing the   national   examination 

exercises almost every day. In short, from all of the students participate in this study almost all of  

them increase their time to study. They also do it on their own, without any command from their 

parents. They do it because they realize and conscious that they indeed need to study to prepare 

themselves in facing the national examination. It is also in line with Cheng, Watanabe,  and  Curtis  

(2004)  statement  that says positive washback means the positive attitude of both teachers and 

students towards tests/examination that make them work willingly and collaboratively towards its 

objectives. 

Furthermore, from the interview held by the researcher, it can be concluded that the students 

are no longer afraid of the national examination. It is proven by the students who do not want the 

national examination to be deleted. They, instead, want it to be implemented because, according to  

them,  it can trigger their motivation to study and, the most important one, it is used as their ticket to 

enter the next school level. If there is not any national examination, they do not know what kind of 

test they have to do. Moreover, the data from the questionnaire shows that all of the students want 

the national examination to be held again in the next year. They agree with it because they believe 

that the national examination can be used as a benchmark for the Indonesian education level and 

they  are also sure that the national examination is able to  not  only  help  the  students  boost  their 

English skill improvement but also  measure their English skills as well. 

Nevertheless, the national examination is not only brought positive washback but also the 

negative one. Even though it does not scare the students a lot, it still, however, stresses them out. It 

is because the result of the national examination which uses as their determiner to continue the next 

school level makes them still considers the national  examination  as  a   very  important event. Even 

though the stress level they get by the national examination is not that much, it still  has  many 

reasons  to  make  them study hard  in  preparing themselves to  face  it.  As mentioned before, 

almost every day the students study for  the  national examination. Unfortunately, based on the 

students‟ admission, they study it by using exercise books;   which  consists  of   multiple  choice 

items. According to Alderson and Hamp- Lyons (1996), although teachers may choose to follow the 

format of a test in their test preparation classes, they may have no solid evidence that this will help 

their students improve their scores. It is just that this seems an  obvious  way  to  approach the  short-



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term goal of passing the test. This study method definitely unable to develop students‟ knowledge 

because they study based on questions, not based on the material. 

Moreover, the national examination makes the  students  use  most  of  their  study time only 

to study subjects tested in the national examination. They do not give much attention to the other 

subjects as much as they give to the national examination subjects. Mostly,  the  students  say  that  

they  study in those  subjects  only  near  the  school examination implementation.  

Washback of the English the National Examination based on the Teachers’ Teaching Material 

For the positive washback, based on the data collected, the national examination motivates 

the teachers to equip the students with the best material that advantageous for them to be ready to 

face the national examination.  They  use  various  media, methods, and books to provide best 

services for the students. Due to the long experiences in teaching the ninth grade, the teachers also 

do not find any difficulties in teaching students who will face the national examination. 

Furthermore,  the  teachers  also  do  not  feel under pressure or stressful because of the responsibility 

which given to  them to  teach students who will face the national examination. According to  them, 

the  joy of study is important above all. It makes them try their best to make their students enjoy 

their study, especially in studying English. 

However, not only brings positive washback,   the   national   examination   also brings 

negative washback to the teachers. According to Alderson and Wall (1993), the results of negative 

washback can be seen in three areas, they are the content of teaching, the methodology, and the 

assessing of the students. Moreover, In the content of teaching as the washback of teachers‟ teaching 

material, the  negative  washback is  showed  when the teachers do not teach the whole textbook 

since they realize that some skills; namely speaking and listening, are not assessed due to the 

effectiveness of using the limited class time to practice the reading and writing skills. It is, however, 

happens in SMPN 12  Semarang. According to the teachers, they do not teach all of the English 

skills equally because the skills which are tested in the national examination are only reading and 

writing skills. It makes the teachers give more attention to the skills tested in the national 

examination, and give less attention to the listening and speaking skills. Moreover, Pan (2009) stated 

that it will be a negative washback when the tests encourage teachers to narrow the curriculum and 

lose instructional time and lead to “teaching to the test”. The English teachers, furthermore, admit 

that they mostly teach following the table of specification (Standar Kompetensi   Lulusan).   They   

indeed   teach based on the Standard Competence (Kompetensi Dasar) in the class but emphasize 

more to the material that is included in the table of specification.  They also sometimes use the 

previous national examination questions as the students‟ exercise if they find the suitable for the 

material they are teaching. 

Furthermore, the national examination raises a discrepancy between the national examination 

subjects and the non- national examination subjects, which leads to the emergence of jealousy 

between the teachers. According to Teacher 1, the national examination makes the non-national 

examination teachers feel jealous due to the different treatment which is given to the national  

examination  subjects  and  non- national   examination   subjects.   It   is   also because the students 

are also treated the national examination subjects differently than the non-national examination 

subjects. Therefore, it is the reason why the non- national examination teachers getting jealous with 

teachers of the national examination subjects. In addition, the national examination makes  the  

younger English  teachers do  not want  to  teach  ninth  grade  students  because they are afraid of 

the weight given to the ninth grade   teachers.   It   makes   Teacher   1   and Teacher 2 have to teach 

ninth grade again and again.   Furthermore,   due   to   the   special treatment given for the national 

examination that make the school hold a focus class of the national examination subjects after the 

implementation of the school examination, the ninth grade teachers who also teach seven and eight 



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graders have to leave their 7 and 8 classes to teach in the national examination focus class since it is 

held at the same time. 

However, from the questionnaire and interview given to the teachers after the implementation 

of the English national examination, the overall English national examination also brings positive 

and negative washback. As mentioned above, the English national examination makes the teachers 

and students try their best to prepare the English national examination. The teachers work hard by 

providing and delivering the materials to the students. The students, on the other hand, try their best 

to study and be prepared well to face    the    English    national    examination. Nevertheless,  on   

the   day   of   the   English national  examination  implementation,  it  is, ungratefully, not like what 

they expected due to  the  unsatisfying  result  of  the  students‟ national examination English score. 

According to    the    teachers,    the    English    national examination questions are way too difficult 

for the students. In  their  opinion, the  questions difficulty  level  is  too  hard  for  the  students 

which make their English score unsatisfying. The teachers, however, are not quite sure with their 

opinion because the teachers do not know how the questions really are.  It happens because due to 

the national examination which held via computer, the teachers are unable to access the website to 

see the questions since they had no account to  do  it.  However, according  to  the  teachers,  they  

had  already tried  to  access  it  by  using  the  students‟ account, but they still could not do it 

because it  was  automatically  closed  right  after  the English  national  examination  time  was  up. 

Moreover, the   government also   have   not uploaded the questions so the teachers cannot see  and  

analyze  what  makes  their  students have an unsatisfying score in English.  

 

Washback  Type  Happens  in  SMP  N  12 Semarang 

From both students‟  perception and teachers‟  teaching  material,  it  can  be concluded  that  

washback  type  happens  in Senior High School 12 Semarang is both positive and negative 

washback. 

For the positive washback, according to data collected, the national examination makes the 

teachers try their best to prepare their students to face the national examination. They use various 

media, methods, and books to provide best services for the students. Due to the long experiences in 

teaching the ninth grade, the teachers also do not find any difficulties in teaching students who will 

face the national examination. Furthermore, the teachers also do not feel under pressure or stressful 

because of the responsibility which given to them to teach students who will face the national 

examination. According to them, the joy of study is important above all.  It makes them try their 

best to make their students enjoy their study, especially in studying English. 

Moreover, for the students, the national examination makes them study harder than they 

usually do. From all of the students participate in this study; almost all of them increase their time to 

study. They also do it on their own, without any command from their parents. They do it because 

they realize and conscious that they need to study to prepare themselves in facing the national 

examination. In short, the students are no longer afraid of the national examination. It is proven by 

the data that shows all of the students who want national examination to be held again in the next 

year.  

For the negative washback happens in State Junior High 12 Semarang. According to the 

teachers, they do not teach all of English skills equally because the skills tested in the national 

examination are only reading and writing skills. It makes the teachers giving more attention to the 

skills tested in NE, which are only reading and writing skills. They, however, do not give specific 

attention to the listening and speaking skills because they are not used in the English national 

examination. The teachers, furthermore, admit that they mostly teach based on the table of 

specification. They do not give much attention to the materials that will not appear in the table of 

specification. 



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For the students, however, the national examination still stresses them out. It was because the 

result of the national examination which uses as their determiner to continue to the next school level 

made them still considering the national examination as a very important test. Even though the 

stress level they got by the national examination is not that much, it still gives many reasons to make 

them study hard in preparing themselves to face it.    Moreover, with the national examination, they 

use most of their study time only to study subjects tested in the national examination. They do not 

give much attention to the other subjects as much as they give to the national examination subjects. 

Mostly, the students say that they study in those subjects only      near      the      school      

examination implementation. 

However, this year’s English national examination in SMP N 12 Semarang brings negative 

washback. After the English national examination implementation, the score shows decreasing 

average score result than last year’s English national examination. It is, however, not only happened 

in SMP N 12 Semarang but also in almost every school in Indonesia. According to the teachers‟ 

assumption, it happens   because   the   questions‟   difficulty levels are too high for the students. The 

teachers, however, cannot prove whether it is right or wrong because based on the computer- based 

national examination test type, people who are able to access the site are only those who have an 

account to do it. In this case, only the students who are able to access the site. Even though the 

teachers indeed want to log into the site and check the questions, they have no account to do it. 

According to the teachers, they have been trying to access the site by using the students‟ account. 

Nevertheless, after the time of the  national  examination is  up, automatically, the site closes itself 

and no one able to access it anymore. From the teachers‟ admission, the government, however, has 

not uploaded the English national examination questions on the internet. It makes the teachers have 

no access at all to look and check the questions.  Furthermore,  the  teachers‟  states that they also 

assume that because it is the first time  their  students  do  the  English  national examination on the  

computer, it  may affect their concentration on doing the exam because it is a well-known secret that 

there are several English National examination texts which sometimes written in  a  long story. It 

might bore the students and makes their eyes tired for always looking at the screen on and on. In 

conclusion, their eye tiredness might affect their concentration and brought the worst result for the 

students‟ scores.  

CONCLUSIONS 

Based   on   the   washback   analysis result of the English national examination in SMP  N  

12  Semarang in  the  academic year 2017, the conclusions could be drawn as follows. 

This study explored washback from the National examination through the perception   of   

students   and   the   teaching material   of   the   teachers.   Therefore,   the findings reveal the result 

of both positive and negative washback effects of the English national examination. 

The positive washback of students‟ perception is indicated by the students that improve their 

study intensity and pay more attention to the teachers in the class. According to Pan (2009), positive 

washback happens when the test motivates the students to work harder to have a sense of 

accomplishment and thus enhance learning. Based on the data collected, it shows the students‟ 

admission that their motivation to study is increased significantly during the national     examination     

preparation.      

The indication of students‟ study improvement can be seen by the increment of the study time 

they  spent  in  their  house  and  their attentiveness during the English class due to their realization 

of the importance of the study for their own benefits. 

However, the positive washback comes together with the negative one. According to the data 

collected, the result shows that in spite of the fact that the national examination is no longer used as 



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graduation determiner, the students still consider it as an important test that, as a result, brings 

anxiety to the students. Even though their anxiety is not too exaggerated, it still exists as a result of 

the national examination‟s score that used as the students‟ determiner to enter the next school level. 

It, however, becomes the best motives for the students to give most of their attention to  study  the  

national  examination  subject harder and, consequently, impact their study time  for  the  other  

subjects.  According  to Brown (2004) (Brown, 2004) the students‟ treatment of the national 

examination and non- national examination subjects can be classified as a „test-driven learning‟, 

which indicates the students‟  positive attitude toward learning to the test that determine their lives 

and, on the other hand, makes them giving little attention to   the   subject   which   does   not   

directly contribute to pass the exam. In short, the anxiety of being unable to  enter the  school they 

targeted triggers their  study motivation for the national examination subject and, on the other  

hand,  makes  them  less  concerned with the subjects which are not tested in the national 

examination since they have no influence for their entrance to the Senior High School. 

Furthermore, the washback of the English national examination from the teachers‟ 

perspective on SMP N 12 Semarang is also both positive and negative. The positive washback 

indicates by the teachers‟ effort to equip the students with the best material and, in addition, 

illuminate the material that  can help the students understand and be ready to face the national 

examination. Moreover, the teachers’ effort to support students’ readiness in facing the national 

examination is shown by the use of various media, methods, and books in the both regular and extra 

English classes. Besides,   due   to   the   long   experiences in teaching the ninth grade, the teachers 

do not find any difficulties or feel under pressure of the responsibility of teaching students who will 

face the national examination. According to them, the joy of study is important above all. As the 

result, in teaching the students, they provide   the   best   methods   to   make   their students enjoy 

the study, especially in studying English. 

However,  not  only  positive washback, the negative washback is also found in the school. 

According to Alderson and Wall (1993), the results of negative washback can be seen in 3 areas, the 

content of teaching, the methodology, and  the  way  in  assessing  the students. According to them, 

the indication of negative washback of the teaching content is, when the teachers do not teach the 

whole book because some skills are not more useful to spend the limited time they have. However, 

the negative washback on the content of teaching in SMP N 12 Semarang is indicated by the 

teachers who do not teach all of the English skills equally. It happens as a result of national 

examination which only tests reading and writing skills which, therefore, makes the teachers give 

less attention to the speaking and listening skills in order to help the students for being ready to face 

national examination. 

Moreover, Pan (2009) said that if the tests encourage teachers to narrow the curriculum and 

lose instructional time and lead to “teaching to the test”, it is  the  result  of negative washback. On 

the case of washback of the national examination in SMPN 12 Semarang, the teachers teach based 

on the Standard of Competence (Standard Kompetensi/SK) and Basic Competence (Kompetensi 

Dasar/KD) for  the  ninth  grade students. Nevertheless, if the material is mentioned   in   the   table   

of   specification (Standar Kompetensi Lulusan/SKL), the teachers would emphasize more and 

illuminate the materials so the students can be easily understood them. Furthermore, the teachers 

also used  the  previous national examination questions as  students‟  exercises if  the  texts were 

suitable to the material they taught.  

 

 

 

  



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Furthermore,  the  national examination raises a discrepancy between the national 

examination subjects and the non- national examination subjects, which leads to the emergence of 

jealousy between the teachers. According to Teacher 1, NE makes the non-national examination 

teachers envy because the national examination subjects which are treated differently compared with 

the non-national examination subjects. 

In addition, due to the focus class of the national   examination   subjects   which   the school 

held  after  the  school examination, it makes the ninth grade teachers who also teach 7 and 8 

graders have to leave their 7 and 8 classes  to   be   able   to   teach  the   national examination focus 

class since it is held at the same time. In short, it makes the seven and eight graders neglected by the 

teachers. Furthermore,   this   year‟s   English   national examination  implementation  in  SMP  N  

12 Semarang brings both positive and  negative washback. As mentioned before, the national 

examination motivates both teachers and students to do their best in preparing the national 

examination. However, after the national examination implemented, the result makes  both  

teachers  and  students disappointed. According to the data collected by the researcher after the 

national examination, the national examination results show the decreasing average score of English 

than the last year‟s English national examination average score. It, however, is not only happened 

in SMP N 12 Semarang, but also in almost every school in Indonesia. According to the teachers‟ 

assumption, it happens   because   the   questions‟   difficulty levels are too high for the students. The 

teachers, however, are not quite sure with their assumption because until the national examination 

result announced, the government has not uploaded the questions so the teachers cannot check how 

exactly the questions were. 

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