In the middle of a standardized test: The emerging relations of young children in research

Abstract

The performance of standardized tests is an ongoing matter of concern for childhood researchers. Standardized tests are often described as neglecting the ethical complexities of doing research with young children. However, this critique is primarily presented in general terms, and does not attend to the locality and specificity of particular test situations. With this as a starting point, the aim of this article is to challenge a narrow understanding of standardized tests as activities done ‘on’ children and examine the complexities of emerging relations in test situations performed in Swedish preschools. Through analysing video recordings made as part of an intervention project, the article focuses on the practices that surface in test situations with four- to six-year-olds. Inspired by Haraway and Strathern, the article puts to work a relational approach to analysing the test situations. This approach contributes with an understanding in which the contextual details are taken into account, which in turn highlights how the atypical and the moving are often the standard in standardized testing. The insights from a relational analysis point to important aspects to consider in the performance of standardized tests: it matters to attune to and problematize a narrow understanding of standardized tests; it matters to consider the local specificities; and it matters to scrutinize in new ways the relations between children and researchers.