Purposeful turns for more equitable and transparent publishing in language testing and assessment

Abstract

This Editorial comes at a time when the after-effects of the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic are still being felt but when, in most countries around the world, there has been some easing of restrictions and a return to (quasi-)normalcy. In the language testing and assessment community, many colleagues relished the opportunity to meet and participate in events at the 44th annual Language Testing Research Colloquium (LTRC) in New York in July 2023. This was after 4 years of LTRC exclusively being held online due to public health concerns, restrictions on movement, and other policy-related and logistical matters. In the context of this Editorial, which comes out annually, we find it liberating to be able to focus on matters that are non-pandemic related. In terms of the day-to-day business of managing the journal, we have moved beyond a time of crisis, as reflected in the removal of a note about pandemic effects in our Author and Reviewer e-mail invitation templates. In this annual address, we note a change of the guard in the editorial team that will have come into effect by the time this Editorial is published and some elements of continuity. We also reflect on developments over the past year while briefly touching on what lies ahead.