In Table 1, examples are provided to illustrate some unresolved issues with an interactionalist approach to construct definition in the context of computer-mediated language assessment.
Research of computer-mediated language assessment in the past largely focused on establishing score equivalence, rather than construct equivalence (McDonald 2002).
The difficulties and complexities lie largely in the design of computer-mediated language communication tasks and the rating and interpretation of test takers' performance on the tasks.
The development of ICT has important implications for language testing and assessment, especially large-scale assessments targeted at tertiary-level students, a major force in the transition to computer-mediated language communication.
Without a clear understanding of an interactionalist definition of the construct of a computer-mediated language assessment, it is highly unlikely that assessment tasks will elicit consistent performances and that raters will award reliable scores.
More specifically, test developers have difficulties in operationalizing and interpreting the construct of strategic competence in computer-mediated language communication due to their lack of an in-depth understanding and clear specifications of contextual facets or interactional features.
To operationalize the construct of computer-mediated language communication, we need a clearer conceptualization of the context in which assessments are constructed and a better understanding of the mediational function of context on assessment design and implementation.
From the perspective of communicative contexts, the College English Test (CET), an English language test of a very large scale and high stakes in China, will be used as a case study to argue for the need to broaden the construct of computer-mediated language communication in an era of pervasive and intense use of information and communications technology.
Table 1 Examples of issues with an interactionalist approach in the context of computer-mediated language assessment Task design and test taker performance Rating and score reporting Writing assessment ▪ Shall we provide test takers with auto spelling check, autocorrection, and online dictionaries when they write on the computer?
