When a test fails: Tracing human and non-human actors in online English language assessment

Dr Wen Xing, Career Development Fellow, Durham University

Abstract

Online language tests have gained momentum as accessible solutions for wider test-taker populations, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet their delivery often depends on complex interactions between human actors, such as test-takers, invigilators and test providers, and non-human actors, including testing platforms, computers, internet infrastructure, etc. These heterogeneous actors shape, enable, or disrupt testing processes, often with life-changing consequences. However, there is little in-depth exploration of their roles in co-constructing the online testing experience.

This seminar will explore experiences of a high-stakes online English test, based on interviews with both test-takers and staff members from a testing organisation and university admissions team. Informed by Actor-Network Theory, the analysis traces how human and non-human actors interact to assemble and disrupt the assessment network, unpacking the complex realities of online test disruptions and offering crucial insights for universities and testing organisations to make assessment & admissions process more inclusive and accessible.

Bio

Wen is a Career Development Fellow at the School of Education, Durham University. She has recently concluded her PhD, funded by the Durham Doctoral Studentship (DDS), which explored the experiences of high-stakes, standardised English tests (e.g. IELTS, PTE Academic) for university admissions. She is interested in the full spectrum of test-taking experiences, from those who take the tests, to those who design, assess, deliver and interpret the tests. Drawing on Actor-Network Theory as a sociomaterial lens, her research reconceptualises standardised language testing as a sociomaterial assemblage consisting of various human (e.g. test-takers, examiners, invigilators, test providers, preparation tutors) and non-human players (e.g. preparation resources, social media, assessment platforms, test equipment, remote invigilation platforms, etc.), which are all interacting with each other to make assessments happen in particular ways. Wen has published in the leading social sciences journal Qualitative Research, and is a peer reviewer for International Journal of Qualitative Methods.

Joining Online
This event will be accessible via Microsoft Teams. If you would like to attend online, please contact ed.hr@durham.ac.uk to request the Teams link.