This article explores the history of digital testing technology. Using an organisation that pioneered the use of international large-scale assessments - the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) - I discuss the role of computers, punched cards, answer cards and scanning machines as an example of transnational collaboration in the social sciences. In doing so, I particularly look into temporal and spatial dimensions of collaboration. The temporal dimension had to do with ideals of speed and durability, whereas the spatial dimension had to do with questions of where data processing should occur and how data could travel across boundaries. The analysis goes beyond simplistic assumptions where digital technology is seen merely as a tool that facilitates data processing. Instead, I stress the complexity of using computers and emphasize the materiality of digital technology, essential for understanding how data moved around in an era before the World Wide Web.