2019 Conference
View presentations from the Surpass Conference 2019 in Newcastle.
Note: Surpass Assessment is now the company name for BTL and BTL Surpass.
Headline Session Topics
Global Assessment • Task and Simulation-Based Assessments • Tasks • Item Banking in HTML • Business Opportunities with the Application Solutions Team • Engage with the UX Team • New Approaches to Assessment • Online Invigilation Technology • Adaptive Assessment • Advanced Assessment and Item Banking • Preview New Help Tools
Opening Keynote

Olly Newton
The Edge Foundation
Olly Newton, Director of policy and Research at The Edge Foundation delivered the keynote speech at the 2019 Surpass Conference. In his presentation, Olly highlights an increase in skills shortage vacancies and discusses the type of skills that employers today see as having the most value. Olly gives examples of educational institutions at the forefront of change, who are preparing young learners for 21st-century work through an emphasis on project-based work in real-world scenarios, before emphasising the effect that innovation in the assessment industry can have on the future of education.
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Alternative Keynote

Ben Whitaker
The Edufuturists
Is education preparing young people for the future?
Ben Whitaker from EduFuturists delivered the alternative keynote presentation at the 2019 Surpass Conference. Ben looked at education in England today and asked whether we are sufficiently preparing young learners for a career in the 21st century. In this passionate presentation, Ben highlights how despite increasing use of technology and innovation in the classroom, assessments are still conducted via the traditional exam hall, and how we need the regulators on board to digitise examinations from the start as opposed to current processes of digitising handwritten responses for marking.
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Engage: Community Experiences

Gavin Busuttil-Reynaud
AlphaPlus Consultancy

Janet Legge
Association of Corporate Treasurers

Toni Brooks
NCFE

Nick Freeman
London Institute of Banking & Finance
The Surpass Community is probably one of the most diverse communities of assessment providers. Each member has their own unique and fascinating story to tell. This year we will be welcomed to this great city by Toni Brooks from Newcastle-based NCFE with an update on their recent activities. Then we’ll be hearing about NBME’s investment in Item Tags in content authoring, how they are using it, and the benefits it brings to item management, such as searching and reporting. We’ll also be hearing an update from Gavin about the inspirational work with the personalised testing being undertaken in Wales. We will welcome Laura to the stage for the first time to tell us about the experiences of Cardiff University School of Biosciences in selecting Surpass and their plans for the future. Finally, Georgie and Tom from BTL’s Product Communications and Training team will be providing delegates with an update on the new Help Site for Surpass and opportunities for community members to get involved in user testing.
Personalised assessments in Wales with Gavin Busuttil-Reynaud – AlphaPlus
Gavin talks to the Surpass Community about the pioneering work of the Welsh Government and the success of the personalised assessments being undertaken with primary school children in Wales. In this presentation, Gavin gives an overview of the assessments and how this new way of testing has been received. We also learn how this type of assessment provides a learning journey, and how formative feedback gives learners and teachers constructive information on how to progress as opposed to a score.
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Association of Corporate Treasurers and Dual-Camera Online Invigilation with Janet Legge
Janet Legge from the Association of Corporate Treasurers updates the Surpass Community on her organisation’s introduction and ongoing use of BTL’s dual-camera online invigilation service.
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Surpass Community Experiences with Nick Freeman from The London Institute of Banking and Finance
New Surpass Community members, The London Institute of Banking and Finance, spoke to the Surpass Community about their journey so far with Surpass, from recognising a need to move away from an in-house platform in order to keep pace with technological change, to delivering their first exams with Surpass, and what the future holds.
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Surpass Community Experiences with Toni Brooks from NCFE
Long-standing Surpass Community members NCFE provide an introduction to their organisation, and how their customer service ethos makes them stand out from the crowd. Toni also discusses NCFE’s work to-date with BTL, and the recent move to Surpass 12 which was achieved within 3 months of launching the project thanks to a dedicated project team and support from BTL.
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Engage: Assessment for a Global Audience

Ibidun Layi-Ojo
Prometric

Laura Roach
School of Biosciences at Cardiff University

Alice Niezborata
ProctorExam

Emma Hall
BTL
You’ll love this if you are looking at how you can reach new audiences on a global scale.
In this session, we invite representatives from local and international organisations to discuss their experiences in developing and delivering an assessment programme on a global scale. Our speakers will cover topics such as developing content for global audiences, overcoming cultural differences, and ensuring assessment security is maintained.
Assessment for a Global Audience with Ibidun Layi-Ojo from Prometric
Ibi talks to the Surpass Community about best practice for delivering assessments for a global audience. Ibi highlights the importance of considering the impact for different audiences at the very start of the test development process, and how simply repurposing the same tests for different audiences isn’t always enough.
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The Surpass selection process and journey so far with Laura Roach from Cardiff University
The School of Biosciences at Cardiff University are new to the Surpass Community, and in this presentation, Laura Roach tells us of her journey from being tasked with selecting an e-assessment platform for the School, to the recent trial with students. Laura talks through the selection process, and the positive influence of being part of the Surpass Community.
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Online Invigilation/Remote Proctoring insights with Alice Niezborala from ProctorExam
Alice Niezborala speaks to the Surpass Community about the work of ProctorExam, their online invigilation technology, and collaboration with BTL. Alice also shares her insights into the future potential of online invigilation.
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Explore: Subjective, Task and Simulation-Based Assessments

Manny Straehle
AERE
Interview – Manny Straehle from AERE discusses approaches to test question type selection as part of the 2019 Surpass Conference
Manny Straehle from AERE discusses assessment question type selection, from multiple-choice to subjective and performance-based assessment.
This video was first played as part of the 2019 Surpass Conference.
With over two decades of active involvement in the credentialing industry, Manny is one of about 20 assessors for the ANSI ISO/IEC 17024:2012 accreditation standards. He possesses immense proficiency as a consulting assessment and educational research expert and sits at the top of AERE as Founder and President.
Explore: Subjective, Task and Simulation-Based Assessments

Granville Edwards
City & Guilds
You’ll love this if you want to assess your candidates on the application of their skills, not just their ability to recall knowledge.
An exam is a unique experience that requires an array of skills to recall knowledge that won’t always be needed in real life. This session will focus on the use of various scenario-based questions that allow candidates to demonstrate how they would apply their skills and knowledge to situations in the real-world. These methods of testing enable candidates to showcase what they have learnt from a course, rather than traditional knowledge recall tests.
We will explore some of the innovative Surpass features that could be used to create a more true-to-life test, the authoring process of these tests, and a host of benefits of this approach to testing.
Using Surpass for functional skills with Granville Edwards from City & Guilds
Granville Edwards discusses how City & Guilds are using the functionality available in Surpass for the delivery of the reformed functional skills qualifications. In his presentation, Granville gives examples of some of the question types in use and some of the changes they’ve implemented since the reform.
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Explore: On-Demand Testing and Online Invigilation Using Bespoke Integrations

Vanessa Appoh
telc gGmbH
You’ll love this if you’re looking for new ways to connect Surpass with your business operations.
In this session we’ll be discussing and demonstrating some of the more interesting integrations that the Surpass Community have been involved with this year. These will range from self-registration and certification portals for language testing, to new internal integration tools that will improve the operational processes for online invigilation, and streamline on-demand testing with Surpass.
We will then provide delegates with the opportunity to explore the future by showcasing potential integrations with the latest Azure services.
Vanessa Appoh from telc gGmbH updates the Surpass Community on their TOP test delivered through Surpass, and the self-registration portal that has been developed in order to maintain existing registration and certification processes.
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Innovation Insights

Bob Gomersall
BTL

Dave Mellor
AQA

Rachel Teale
AQA

Janet King
NCFE CACHE

Paul Eeles
Skills and Education Group

Andy McAnulla
BTL Surpass
Innovation is at the heart of what we do at BTL, and keeps us at the cutting-edge of assessment technology. In this session, we invite members of the Surpass Community to the stage to share their own innovations in technology and assessment design and delivery by looking at what they’ve achieved over the last year, challenges they have overcome, and what the future holds.
Topics include the challenges facing General Qualifications, the future of Online Invigilation, and new opportunities within the vocational space. Finally, we’ll introduce our new platform for sharing and supporting enhancements to Surpass.
Challenges facing General Qualifications with Dave Mellor and Rachel Teale from AQA
In this presentation, Dave Mellor and Rachel Teale from AQA update the community on challenges faced by General Qualifications in the UK, and some of the reasons why in 2019, they are still largely paper-based. They discuss government policy, high test volumes, fear of technology and comparability of on-screen and paper tests, all of which contribute to barriers to on-screen testing in the sector. Dave and Rachel look to the future, suggesting it’s time to starting taking small steps towards delivering more on-screen.
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Innovation Insights: An Introduction to PregnancyVue with Janet King from NCFE CACHE
Janet King from NCFE CACHE talks about their PregancyVue product, which uses virtual reality to help learners understand child development from conception to birth. Janet discusses how this innovative use of technology has increased engagement with a subject that is increasingly difficult to teach and created a more interactive teaching programme. Janet also highlights the importance of introducing technology in a way that everyone can connect with, support by more traditional methods of learning, to give young learners the opportunities they deserve.
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Innovation in the vocational space with Paul Eeles from The Skills and Education Group
Paul Eeles discusses innovation in the vocational space, and how the pace of change is being felt much more quickly, suggesting that the further down an organisation innovation can be pushed, the better we are at it. Paul presents a case study of the MOT assessors’ qualification, which after being moved on-screen to meet the needs of the regulator, faced challenges due to assumptions that had been made about the technical capabilities of learners. Paul highlights the disparity between qualification such as this, and the choices given to young learners who are often given no choice but to handwrite despite it not being their usual way of working.