Changes in Language Assessment Through the Lens of New Materialism

Abstract

In this chapter, we analyze English tests that are part of two computerised assessment systems, the Finnish Matriculation Examination and the Danish National Tests. Language assessment is a fruitful field to explore from the perspective of materiality, to better understand what materialities exist in modern language tests and how students interact with such systems. Within the assessment and test-taking space, material objects exist that are imbued with political values and force test-takers to perform in specific ways. We explore what new materialism has to offer for interpreting current trends in language assessment and to what extent these perspectives allow for new insights to emerge. We describe the changes in language assessment concerning material developments and focus on the aspects of computerization that pertain to formal tests and examinations. Computerization has increased human-computer interaction during the assessment process, as well as automated analysis and scoring of test-takers’ responses. This implies that the computerized system assumes some degree of agency.