Since 2005, Indonesia has administered the National
Examination (NE), from which the result is used as a basis to decide the
students? exit from secondary schools. As a high stake testing, the NE
has caused various washback effects, both positive and negative.
Consequently, the existence of the NE has been accompanied by heated
debates and controversies. The pros believe that the NE may improve
secondary education standards, while the cons argue that the NE will
create injustice and unnecessary anxiety among the students. However,
both the pros and cons base their arguments on common sense not
supported by a sound reasoning. The present study tries to explore the
washback effects of the English National Examination (ENE) in
Indonesian secondary education context, involving three Secondary
Schools categorized based on their NE achievement. The results of the
study indicate that English teachers and students from the schools
involved have different perceptions on the ENE. The English National
Examination has an influential impact on teachers? teaching in the
aspect of: activity/time arrangement, teaching materials, teaching
contents, teaching methods, teaching strategies, ways of assessing, and
on the feelings and attitudes of the students. The ENE also affects the
students? learning in the classroom in which teachers mainly teach to
test, practice the test and develop test-taking strategies. The dimensions
of the washback effect of the ENE on both English teachers and
students are negative and positive, strong, specific and for a short period
time.