Socio-Technical Inequality in Computer-Based Language Assessment: Test Encounter Conditions and Validity-Relevant Differences.

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Title:	Socio-Technical Inequality in Computer-Based Language Assessment: Test Encounter Conditions and Validity-Relevant Differences.
Authors:	Dang, Cu Ngoc¹, Le, Han Truong²
Source:	Journal of Language Teaching & Research. Jul2026, Vol. 17 Issue 4, p1505-1515. 11p.
Subject Terms:	Test validity, Test anxiety, Language ability testing, Computer interfaces, Digital technology
Geographic Terms:	Mekong River Delta (Vietnam & Cambodia), Vietnam
Abstract:	Computer-based assessment (CBA) is increasingly used in language testing, yet the comparability of the conditions under which examinees encounter digitally delivered tests remains underexamined. Prior research has established the administrative advantages of CBA and, in some cases, examined usability, mode effects, or technology acceptance. Far less attention has been paid to the possibility that examinees may take the same digital test under systematically unequal socio-technical conditions. This study addresses that gap by reconceptualizing CBA as a socio-technical testing environment in which language performance is shaped not only by test content but also by digital interfaces, infrastructural reliability, and institutional support. Using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, the study combined a survey of 400 university students in Vietnam's Mekong Delta with follow-up interviews. Students in the more infrastructurally constrained setting reported lower digital readiness, weaker institutional support, greater interface-navigation difficulty, and higher technical anxiety than those in the more urbanized context. Across all subgroups, CBA was also associated with higher anxiety and less favorable evaluations than paper-based assessment, with the largest descriptive disparity observed among Khmer students in Trà Vinh. Although the study does not establish scorelevel construct-irrelevant variance directly, it shows that digitally mediated language assessment may be encountered under systematically unequal conditions, indicating that technological standardization alone does not secure comparability of test experience. Validity-oriented inquiry in computer-based language assessment must therefore attend not only to psychometric design and scoring procedures but also to the socio-technical conditions under which digital test performance is elicited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
	Copyright of Journal of Language Teaching & Research is the property of Academy Publication Co., LTD and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database:	Education Research Complete

Description
Abstract:	Computer-based assessment (CBA) is increasingly used in language testing, yet the comparability of the conditions under which examinees encounter digitally delivered tests remains underexamined. Prior research has established the administrative advantages of CBA and, in some cases, examined usability, mode effects, or technology acceptance. Far less attention has been paid to the possibility that examinees may take the same digital test under systematically unequal socio-technical conditions. This study addresses that gap by reconceptualizing CBA as a socio-technical testing environment in which language performance is shaped not only by test content but also by digital interfaces, infrastructural reliability, and institutional support. Using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, the study combined a survey of 400 university students in Vietnam's Mekong Delta with follow-up interviews. Students in the more infrastructurally constrained setting reported lower digital readiness, weaker institutional support, greater interface-navigation difficulty, and higher technical anxiety than those in the more urbanized context. Across all subgroups, CBA was also associated with higher anxiety and less favorable evaluations than paper-based assessment, with the largest descriptive disparity observed among Khmer students in Trà Vinh. Although the study does not establish scorelevel construct-irrelevant variance directly, it shows that digitally mediated language assessment may be encountered under systematically unequal conditions, indicating that technological standardization alone does not secure comparability of test experience. Validity-oriented inquiry in computer-based language assessment must therefore attend not only to psychometric design and scoring procedures but also to the socio-technical conditions under which digital test performance is elicited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	17984769
DOI:	10.17507/jltr.1704.34