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This change raised questions about washback effects across stakeholders. Using a small sample of Chinese test takers (n=10), the study examines washback after revision and the complexity of test preparation via in-depth semi-structured interviews. Results indicate shorter test length preference and multiple preparation methods, suggesting positive washback, yet some confusion about specific items.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":20,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/a-case-study-of-washback-and-test-preparation-of-the-new-version-of-pte-academic-article/578512/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/a-case-study-of-washback-and-test-preparation-of-the-new-version-of-pte-academic-article/578512.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Hazel","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-27","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":81},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What change occurred in PTE Academic in November 2021?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"PTE-A moved from a three-hour test to a two-hour version while decreasing the number of test items and keeping all item types.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How does the study investigate washback effects?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"It focuses on a small sample of Chinese test takers (n=10) and uses in-depth semi-structured interviews to explore test-taker perceptions and preparation strategies after the revision.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What do the findings suggest about test preparation and washback?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Participants preferred the shorter test length and used different preparation methods, which provides evidence of positive washback.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},578512,1792482703,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":19,"category_name":20,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":81,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},137441390410,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/2000252f4ab5702993?_k=1776741390130283984","A Case Study of Washback and Test Preparation of the New Version of PTE Academic  \nYi Zou1 *, Ying Zheng2, Jingwen Wang3  \nARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT  \n\n| Article History:\u003Cbr>Received: April 2024\u003Cbr>Accepted: August 2024 |  |  | The Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE-A), a widely used highstakes language proficiency test for university admissions and migration purposes, underwent a notable change from a three-hour to a two-hour version in November 2021. The implementation of the new version has prompted inquiries into the washback effects on various stakeholders. Focusing on a small sample of Chinese test takers (n=10), this paper explores washback effects following the revision of PTE-A and the complexity of test preparation through in-depth semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest a shorter test length is preferred and several different methods are adopted for test preparation which gives evidence to the positive washback. However, participants reported some confusion regarding certain test items, leading to the adoption of construct-irrelevant methods. This, in turn, may affect the face validity of PTE-A. While addressing the literature gap in this field, recommendations for improving the test design to better meet test takers’ needs are provided. |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| KEYWORDS\u003Cbr>Chinese test perception\u003Cbr>PTE Academic Test preparation Test Revision Washback Effects | taker | |  |\n\n1. Introduction  \nStandardized language tests have been used for multiple purposes, and globalization has led toa significant increase in the use of English language tests. The pervasive use of English in major socioeconomic sectors such as business, technology, and various academic settings has driven a surge in demand among international students seeking admission to universities where English is the primary medium of instruction. In this context, universities rely on standardized language tests to provide reliable evidence of incoming students’ English ability, ensuring they are prepared for their academic programs. The new version of PTE-A has been designed to be useful for test takers in demonstrating their English language proficiency.  \nLaunched globally in 2009, the PTE-A serves to measure candidates’ ability to use English. In developing PTE-A, Pearson collaborated with Lexical Computing Ltd to establish the Pearson International Corpus of Academic English (PICAE) . This corpus ensures the PTE-A accurately represents the English that test takers will need to understand and produce in academic settings where English is the language of instruction. The corpus comprises spoken and written data from five major English-speaking countries including curricular English found in lectures, seminars, textbooks and journal papers, and extracurricular English encountered in university administration and transcripts of radio broadcasts (see Ackermann et al., 2011). Besides its academic focus, it is noteworthy that the testis fully computer-based, with both test delivery and scoring automated by computer. Overall, PTE-A has become one of the leading large-scale proficiency tests affecting the lives of many international students, as high-stakes decisions often hinge on these test scores. The background of this study is that  \n1 University of Southampton, Email: [eyiechoyz@hotmail.com](eyiechoyz@hotmail.com)  \n2 University of Southampton, Email: [jingwen.wang@soton.ac.uk](jingwen.wang@soton.ac.uk)  \n3 University of Southampton, [Email:](Email: ying.zheng@soton.ac.uk)[ ](Email: ying.zheng@soton.ac.uk)[ying.zheng@soton.ac.uk](Email: ying.zheng@soton.ac.uk)  \nCite this paper as: Zou, Y., Zheng, Y., & Jingwen, W. (2025). A Case Study of Washback and Test Preparation of the New Version of PTE Academic. International Journal of Language Testing, 15(1), 159–172. [https://doi.org/10.22034/ijlt.2024.447992.1337](https://doi.org/10.22034/ijlt.2024.447992.1337)  \nZou et al. (2025)  \nPTE-A was changed from a three-hour test to a two-hour version in N","cbCaibcrUoExHbL1","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaibcrUoExHbL1","pdf",321859,14,"English","# Introduction\n# Review of Literature\n## Washback and Test Preparation","[{\"question\":\"What change occurred in PTE Academic in November 2021?\",\"answer\":\"PTE-A moved from a three-hour test to a two-hour version while decreasing the number of test items and keeping all item types.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the study investigate washback effects?\",\"answer\":\"It focuses on a small sample of Chinese test takers (n=10) and uses in-depth semi-structured interviews to explore test-taker perceptions and preparation strategies after the revision.\"},{\"question\":\"What do the findings suggest about test preparation and washback?\",\"answer\":\"Participants preferred the shorter test length and used different preparation methods, which provides evidence of positive washback.\"}]","A Case Study of Washback and Test Preparation of the New Version of PTE Academic - Article | PDF",1792033889,35]