2025 programme
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Please note that this programme is subject to change
Tuesday 7 October
Pre-conference learning camp: The latest in schools-based formative assessment
1.30pm BST
8.30am ET
Conference introduction
Jim Crawford – Chief Commercial Officer & Company Director, Surpass Assessment
1.35pm BST
8.35am ET
Keynote: John Winkley – Transforming formative assessment for the modern era
John Winkley – Education expert
Shirley Watson – Chief Executive Officer, Beckfoot Trust
2.15pm BST
9.15am ET
Keynote Q&A
Adam Foley – Head of Digital Innovation, Surpass Assessment
Jim Crawford – Chief Commercial Officer & Company Director, Surpass Assessment
2.25pm BST
9.25am ET
Short ad break
2.30pm BST
9.30am ET
Case Study: Large-scale, computer-adaptive testing project in reading and numeracy
Gemma O’Brien, National Assessment Programme Manager, AlphaPlus
With AQA Global
2.50pm BST
9.50am ET
Case Study: Generating formative reports from multiple choice data
Dr Jimmy de la Torre – Professor, Human Communication, Learning and Development, The University of Hong Kong
3.10pm BST
10.10am ET
Short break
3.15pm BST
10.15am ET
Case Study: US education trends to watch – and the supporting role of formative assessment
Kaitlynn Griffith – Chief Solutions Officer, Cornerstone Strategies
The US Education market has never experienced a more volatile time. This is both an opportunity and a threat for those working in assessments. This session will highlight the most important trends to watch and touch on the role of formative assessment in supporting effective responses.
3.35pm BST
10.35am ET
Outro
Jim Crawford – Chief Commercial Officer & Company Director, Surpass Assessment
Day 1 – Wednesday 8 October
1.30pm BST
8.30am ET
Conference introduction
Jim Crawford – Chief Commercial Officer & Company Director, Surpass Assessment
1.35pm BST
8.35am ET
Company Update – A year in focus: Surpass strategy update
Andy McAnulla – Co-CEO, Surpass Assessment
Sonya Whitworth – Co-CEO, Surpass Assessment
Featuring updates from:
Jarret Dyer – VP of Test Security, Surpass Assessment
Ceri Harper – Chief Services Officer, Surpass Assessment
Laura Steighner – Director of Test Delivery Customer Experience, Surpass Assessment
2.05pm BST
9.05am ET
From bottlenecks to breakthroughs: Optimising Surpass for speed and scale
John Turner – Solutions Engineer, Surpass Assessment
Sophie Grogan – Product Owner, Surpass Assessment
Ian Brumfitt – Chief Operating Officer, Surpass Assessment
Danny Jimmison – Performance Test Lead, Surpass Assessment
Join the Surpass team as they take us through how investments in our technology support the seamless delivery of reliable, large-scale assessments on a global scale.
2.10pm BST
9.10am ET
Community Snapshot with CPA Canada
Participants to be announced from Chartered professional Accountants (CPA) of Canada
2.15pm BST
9.15am ET
Community Stories – Pioneering AI in healthcare: Inteleos’ journey with Surpass Copilot
Jeff Grove – Director of Assessment Operations, Inteleos
Join representatives from Surpass Community members as they take us through their assessment journeys and challenges.
2.55pm BST
9.55am ET
Community Stories with GPhC – Scaling a Test Centre Network for large, single-day exam events
Ruth Exelby – Head of Trainee Pharmacist Assessment, GPhC
Join representatives from Surpass Community members as they take us through their assessment journeys and challenges.
3.10pm BST
10.10am ET
Live podcast: Why it matters – test security in the assessment industry
Rachel Schoenig – Founder & CEO, Cornerstone Strategies
Jarret Dyer – VP of Test Security, Surpass Assessment
3.25pm BST
10.25am ET
Short break
3.35pm BST
10.35am ET
Community Snapshot – Streamlining the authoring and delivery of a multi-lingual test
John Turner – Solutions Engineer, Surpass Assessment
3.40pm BST
10.40am ET
Community Stories with CISI – Transitioning a large-scale, continuous testing program to Surpass
Lesley Perry – Senior Manager for Scheduling and Administration, Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI)
Saffron Dunk – Project Manager, Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI)
Join us for an insightful conference session led by Saffron Dunk, a Project Manager at the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI), along with Lesley Perry, Senior Manager of Scheduling & Administration at CISI, and Ellen Wood, Customer Success Manager at Surpass. This session will delve into the collaborative development work carried out by CISI and Surpass over the past year to transition CISI’s large-scale, continuous testing program to the Surpass Platform.
In addition to an overview of CISI’s transition to Surpass, attendees will gain insights into the specific features developed to facilitate this, such as custom score reports, right-to-left language support, and the implementation of a daily digest email.
3.55pm BST
10.55am ET
Surpass Copilot and corporate adoption of AI
Andy McAnulla – Co-CEO, Surpass Assessment
4.05pm BST
11.05am ET
Keynote – The automated future of assessment
John Weiner – Assessment industry adviser / former Chief Science Officer
We are in an era of rapid and significant change, as technology and AI are transforming work and education, and in turn, reshaping the world of assessment. This poses a challenge for testing professionals and organizations to adapt, build strategies, and develop innovative approaches to testing – reimagining the entire testing lifecycle. This presentation explores transformative trends, expected changes, and implications for the future of testing.
4.45pm BST
11.45am ET
Keynote Q&A
Laura Steighner – Director of Test Delivery Customer Experience, Surpass Assessment
John Weiner – Assessment industry adviser / former Chief Science Officer
4.55pm BST
11.55am ET
Outro
Jim Crawford – Chief Commercial Officer & Company Director, Surpass Assessment
Day 2 – Thursday 9 October
1.30pm BST
8.30am ET
Conference introduction
Jim Crawford – Chief Commercial Officer & Company Director, Surpass Assessment
1.35pm BST
8.35am ET
Keynote – Learning in the world of AI, assessment for the world of AI
Andreas Schleicher – Director for Education and Skills, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
In this keynote Andreas will share how we learn in a world of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and crucially how we assess what is learned, for the world of AI. He explores how topics that are easy to teach and test have now become easy to digitise and automate, and the implications of the declining importance of routine tasks for the future of work.
2.05pm BST
9.05am ET
Surpass Feature Tour: all the latest enhancements in the Surpass Platform
Georgie Jones – Assessment Specialist, Surpass Assessment
John Turner – Solutions Engineer, Surpas Assessment
2.20pm BST
9.20am ET
Community Stories – Delivering large-scale, paper and on-screen tests in schools
Participants to be announced
Join representatives from Surpass Community members as they take us through their assessment journeys and challenges.
2.35pm BST
9.35am ET
Community Stories – Secure, offline Chromebook delivery and the future of exam delivery technology
Ellen Patterson – On-Screen Exams Delivery Analyst, AQA
2.50pm BST
9.50am ET
Community Snapshot: The latest in AI-based remote proctoring technology
Miriam Broome – Online Proctoring Manager, Surpass Assessment
2.55pm BST
9.55am ET
Community Stories – AI in test preparation and personalised learning
Adam Foley – Head of Digital Innovation, Surpass Assessment
Gray Mytton – Assessment Innovation Manager, NCFE
Graeme Clark – Head of Digital Assessment Services, Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)
3.05pm BST
10.05am ET
Community Snapshot with Dainis and Company, Inc. – Navigating unchartered waters: Using Surpass for high-stakes exams for ship-bound captains
Amanda Dainis – CEO and Lead Psychometrician, Dainis and Company, Inc.
3.15pm BST
10.15am ET
Community Stories with SQA – Intelligent reporting: leveraging Surpass APIs to analyse performance and identify malpractice
Participants to be announced from Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)
In this session, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) will showcase how they have harnessed Surpass APIs to assess the performance of items and assessments, by pulling the data into statistical software and building dashboards. They will go on to explain how they have been able to use these to identify potential malpractice, and explore the relationship between SQA and Surpass. Finally they will discuss the data SQA needed and challenges they faced, before rounding up what they have achieved so far with Surpass.
3.30pm BST
10.30am ET
Short break
3.40pm BST
10.40am ET
Company Update – A year in focus: Surpass strategy update
Andy McAnulla – Co-CEO, Surpass Assessment
Sonya Whitworth – Co-CEO, Surpass Assessment
Featuring updates from:
Jarret Dyer – VP of Test Security, Surpass Assessment
Ceri Harper – Chief Services Officer, Surpass Assessment
Laura Steighner – Director of Test Delivery Customer Experience, Surpass Assessment
4.10pm BST
11.10am ET
Panel: The future workforce – disruption from AI and robotics in vocational practice
With a presentation from Dr Kulvinder Panesar – Assistant Professor of Applied Artificial Intelligence, Bradford University
Jim Crawford – Chief Commercial Officer & Company Director, Surpass Assessment
Gray Mytton – Assessment Innovation Manager, NCFE
4.45pm BST
11.45am ET
Audience Q&A
Jim Crawford – Chief Commercial Officer & Company Director, Surpass Assessment
4.55pm BST
11.55am ET
Outro
Bob Gomersall – Chairman, Surpass Assessment