“The Road Not Taken” in Language Testing: Sociocultural Implications of Test and Teaching Contents

Abstract

Shifting focus of asocial language tests toward social considerations recalls their ideological basis (Mirhosseini, De Costa, 2020). The recurrent exposure to and involvement in discursive constructions of high stakes' contents, may bring along certain sociocultural conceptualizations and values by test audiences (van Dijk, 1998). Thus, unless a clear perception of their contents is gained, any discussions on test misuses, fairness, and negative consequences seem ungrounded. To complement prior findings on sociocultural meanings of the IELTS test contents (Noori & Mirhosseini, 2021), and as another phase of triangulated approach to my dissertation study, the mediated contents through IELTS teachings were recorded through a micro‐ethnography of 22 online IELTS classes offered by an IELTS center in Iran. Bridging critical views of language testing and critical discourse analysis, qualitative content analysis was conducted in search of reflected topics. The emerging 89 codes sat together in four prominent categories outlining the whole content of IELTS pedagogical practices: Entertainment, Money, Education, Immigration, and a Miscellaneous set of minor topics. The findings reflected a homogeneous conceptual flow through inclusion/exclusion/contrast of certain limited value‐laden topics restricted to core communities in the contents of IELTS tests, preparation materials, and pedagogical practices. I suggest inclusion of sociocultural content‐wise considerations in language teaching and testing contents including test and content validity perspectives, and as new test facet to be accounted for in washback, fairness, and consequential validity frameworks. Reconsideration of test content validity is also put forwarded in terms of included test topics and their value implications. These perspectives which account for inclusive views and long wished glocalization, will manifest “the road not taken” (Frost, 1916, p.9)/wrongly taken in language assessment and teaching and will further their literacy.