WASHBACK OF THE ENGLISH SECTION OF COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAM ON THE STUDENTS’ PRODUCTIVE AND RECEPTIVE SKILLS

Abstract

Exam plays a powerful role in educational system and exerts significant washback on
students’ learning. Washback, the impact of exams on education in general and
language examining in particular, has become a popular area of study within
educational research. This paper focuses on the washback effects of college entrance
exam on students’ productive and receptive skills in STKIP Muhammadiyah
Pringsewu Lampung. The main concern of the study was to investigate the impact of
college entrance exam on productive and receptive language skills in STKIP
Muhammadiyah Pringsewu Lampung. 53 first year students at English Education
Department in the academic year of 2015-2016 of STKIP Muhammadiyah Pringsewu
Lampung attended the study. A 26-item questionnaire was designed and administered
to 53 students. The data were analyzed using statistical analysis including descriptive
statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation). It has been found out
that the exam has some negative effects on students’ language productive and
receptive skills on the first year students at English Education Department of STKIP
Muhammadiyah Pringsewu Lampung. Some changes to exam that might be grateful
are discussed in the last section of the paper.
Keywords: washback effect, college entrance exam, students’ productive skills