Teaching testing seriously in academia

Abstract

As systems grow more complex and incorporate AI, testing becomes more critical. Yet testing education in academia remains misaligned with both professional practice and the empirical nature of testing. Current curricula predominantly adopt a rationalist paradigm, emphasizing prescriptive methods and confirmation of expected outcomes. This limits students' ability to reason critically under uncertainty. In this position paper, we argue that testing should instead be taught as an empirical, inquiry-driven professional skill. We propose an instructional design based on the Four-Component Instructional Design (4C/ID) model to support whole-task learning. We introduce P4TEST, a pedagogical framework that makes explicit the core competencies, epistemic moves, and habits of mind involved in testing, while avoiding prescriptive processes. The paper outlines how P4TEST can guide curriculum design, scaffolding, and assessment in software testing education.