On 25 February 2021, EAAST ran an invited panel discussion at the 28th KOTESOL International Conference. Held entirely online, our panel discussed some of the ground-breaking work that we have been doing in relation to technology and language assessment. By focusing on the use of technology on such a large scale, we discussed the key considerations as well as consequences of the following projects: 

  • the use of summative assessment when there is no classroom 
  • the effect of computer-based delivery on IELTS writing assessment 
  • the roles for humans in machine-rated assessment 
  • how test-taking strategies threaten the validity of automated scoring 
  • the implications of automated assessment on English as a Lingua Franca 
  • the growing need for visual literacy in automated assessment 
  • the impact of affective factors on remote speaking assessment
  • the status of remote proctoring for high-stakes tests

The implications for the classroom, whether digital or face-to-face, were also discussed.