Standardized Testing as an Interactional Phenomenon

This is a study of the social organization of standardized testing as an interactional activity. From the outset of an examination, parties engage in co-orientational and rehearsal activities that show an interactional bedrock to the testing activity. Furthermore, the three-part instructional sequence that previous researchers identified in other learning environments is adapted to testing situations. Detailed variations in the three components of a test-item sequence-testing prompts, replies, and acknowledgments-show that each component is assembled in the socially organized interaction between the tester and the testee. Contrary to the stimulus-response model of the testing relationship, the authors confirm previous investigations which suggested that test scores are collaborative productions and explore the implications of this finding for aggregate-level research on bias in mental testing.