2025 Conference

Keynote – The implications of AI for formative assessment

While awarding organisations focus primarily on measuring learning, many aim to support learning too. As both experts in assessment, and as guardians of the final assessment the student will take, they are in a unique position to help.

Effective formative assessment drives and focuses learning, supports learners when they get stuck, and gives teachers real-time information about where their teaching is working and where it isn’t. It is widely recognised as having a significant impact on achievement. However, it has proved hard to implement at scale, for example where a teacher has to respond individually to the personal learning needs each child within a class. Technology has had some impact, for example in managing and presenting data to inform learning and helping students identify personal areas of strength and weakness.

The key question is how best to use the extraordinary power of AI to turbocharge the impact of technology on assessment for learning. This presentation looks at some of the options and considers the complex factors that impact on learning – particularly focusing on learning in the school classroom. To help with this, John is joined by Shirley Watson, the CEO of Beckfoot Trust – a multi-academy trust with around 8,000 students across 10 schools in the Bradford district.

Speakers:

John Winkley
Education expert

Shirley Watson
Chief Executive Officer, Beckfoot Trust

Keynote – The automated future of assessment

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 session explores transformative trends, expected changes, and implications for the future of testing.

Speakers:

John Weiner

Assessment industry adviser / former Chief Science Officer

Keynote – Learning in the world of AI, assessment for the world of AI

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.

Speakers:

Andreas Schleicher
Director for Education and Skills, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Case Study – Enhancing the diagnostic potential of multiple-choice tests

Video is password protected. Conference delegates have been emailed the password. Non-delegates can request access.

Speakers:

Dr Jimmy De La Torre
Professor, Human Communication, Learning and Development, The University of Hong Kong

Case Study – US education trends to watch and the supporting role of formative assessment

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.

Speakers:

Kaitlynn Griffith
Chief Solutions Officer, Cornerstone Strategies

Community Stories – Pioneering AI in healthcare: Inteleos’ journey with Surpass Copilot

Speakers:

Jeff Grove
Director of Assessment Operations, Inteleos

Community Stories with GPhC – Scaling a Test Centre Network for large, single-day exam events

Speakers:

Ruth Exelby
Head of Trainee Pharmacist Assessment, GPhC

Community Stories with CISI – Transitioning a large-scale, continuous testing programme to Surpass

See this session 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 delved into the collaborative development work carried out by CISI and Surpass over the past year to transition CISI’s large-scale, continuous testing programme 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.

Speakers:

Lesley Perry
Senior Manager for Scheduling and Administration, Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI)

Saffron Dunk
Project Manager, Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI)

Ellen Wood
Head of Customer Success, Surpass Assessment

Community Stories – Delivering large-scale, paper and on-screen tests in schools

Speakers:

Nick Biancalana
Technical Product Specialist, Surpass Assessment

Community Stories – Secure, offline Chromebook delivery and the future of exam delivery technology

Speakers:

Ellen Patterson
On-Screen Exams Delivery Analyst, AQA

Community Stories with SQA – Intelligent reporting: using Surpass APIs to analyse assessment performance and delivery

In this session, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) showcased how they had harnessed Surpass APIs to assess the performance of items and assessments by pulling the data into statistical software and building reports. They went on to explain how they were able to use these to monitor assessment performance and identify potential malpractice. Finally, they discussed the data SQA needed and the challenges they faced, before rounding up what they had achieved so far with Surpass.

Speakers:

Alastair Black
Digital Assessment Manager, Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)

Nevil Hopley
Senior Data Analyst, Data & Analytics Team, Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)

Community Snapshot – Streamlining the authoring and delivery of a multilingual test

Speakers:

John Turner
Solutions Engineer, Surpass Assessment

Community Snapshot: The latest in AI-based remote proctoring technology

Speakers:

Miriam Broome
Online Proctoring Manager, Surpass Assessment

Community Snapshot with Dainis and Company, Inc. – Navigating unchartered waters: Using Surpass for high-stakes exams for ship-bound captains

Speakers:

Amanda Dainis
CEO and Lead Psychometrician, Dainis and Company, Inc.

Company update

In this update, Surpass Assessment Co-CEOs Andy McAnulla and Sonya Whitworth look back on the last year and the history of the company, and look forward to future developments.

Video is password protected. Conference delegates have been emailed the password. Non-delegates can request access.

Speakers:

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

From bottlenecks to breakthroughs: Optimising Surpass for speed and scale

Speakers:

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

Panel: The future workforce – disruption from AI and robotics in vocational practice

Speakers:

Jim Crawford
Chief Commercial Officer & Company Director, Surpass Assessment

Gray Mytton
Assessment Innovation Manager, NCFE

With a presentation from:

Dr Kulvinder Panesar
Assistant Professor of Applied Artificial Intelligence, Bradford University

An introduction to new capabilities for clinical examination support, and the Advanced Media Library

Video is password protected. Conference delegates have been emailed the password. Non-delegates can request access.

Speakers:

Sophie Grogran
Product Owner, Surpass Assessment

Jim Crawford
Chief Commercial Officer & Company Director, Surpass Assessment

Surpass Services Update

Speakers:

Gareth Hopkins
Solutions Manager, Surpass Assessment

Sophie Brumfitt
Head of Product Management, Surpass Assessment

An introduction to Surpass Tutor for professional qualifications

Speakers:

Adam Foley
Head of Digital Innovation, Surpass Assessment

AI with confidence: Building, governing and innovating together

In just two years, AI had gone from hype to an everyday reality. But how could organisations embrace this technology without losing control? In this session, Andy McAnulla, Co-CEO of Surpass, shared how Surpass had built a foundation of strong AI governance, partnered with the community to define responsible AI principles, and delivered real-world innovations like Surpass Copilot, Surpass Tutor, and AI-powered proctoring. He explained how responsible adoption was accelerating growth, improving assessment quality, and reshaping everyday processes, while keeping people at the centre.

Speakers:

Andy McAnulla
Co-CEO, Surpass Assessment

Surpass Feature Tour: all the latest enhancements in the Surpass Platform

Speakers:

Georgie Jones
Assessment Specialist, Surpass Assessment

John Turner
Solutions Engineer, Surpass Assessment

An introduction to Surpass Tutor for Awarding Organisations and schools

Speakers:

Adam Foley
Head of Digital Innovation, Surpass Assessment

Podcast: And it matters because… test security in the assessment industry

Speakers:

Rachel Schoenig
Founder & CEO, Cornerstone Strategies

Jarret Dyer
VP of Test Security, Surpass Assessment