News about BTL & Surpass

Latest features added to Surpass – Winter 2017 / 2018

2 March 2018

We’re often told by Surpass users that one major benefit of being part of the community is the regular feature updates to the product as a result of collaboration between the BTL innovation team and client requests, based on changes taking place within the industry. Since our last update article, in addition to the regular mail-outs by the documentation and account management teams, Surpass pre-release webinars have been used to introduce key upcoming features and give the Surpass community an opportunity to ask questions before the update is deployed. An archive of recordings is available at btl.com/surpass/pastwebinars. If you’re interested…

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Filed under: BTL News, Industry News, Surpass Features, Surpass Platform, Video, Webinars, e-Assessment

Surpass Conference 2017 – Delegate Views

12 October 2017

Once again, Surpass Conference was a huge success thanks to a wealth of input from the Surpass Community. Presentation videos, photos, and other materials from the conference will be available soon at conference.surpass.com. In the meantime, please enjoy these highlights and let us know what you enjoyed most about this year’s event.

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Filed under: BTL News, Case Studies, Industry News, Opinions, Surpass Platform, Video, e-Assessment

How to balance multiple test forms with different marks and items.

20 July 2017

Dave Dixon, Senior Solutions Architect at BTL explains how you can manage multiple test forms with different total marks and item numbers. Balancing the grades of multiple test forms can be a difficult task for an awarding organisation. Multiple test forms can be created to reduce the chances of malpractice, which may occur in situations where candidates take tests on different days, for example in the case of on-demand testing. Typically, all test forms start off with the same number of questions and the same number of marks. Then later, despite rigorous workflow and quality checks, items can have their…

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Filed under: Case Studies, Industry News, Surpass Platform, Video, e-Assessment

Should your poor internet connection prevent you moving to e-assessment?

11 July 2017

Although more locations have access to stable internet and confidence in internet stability is increasing, it still doesn’t take much for the internet connection to fail or stall. It might surprise you to learn that many areas still don’t have fibre broadband connections, and bandwidth contention can be an issue. It only has to happen for a few minutes, but the impact can be significant if your exam software is data intensive or relies on a constant and stable connection. Surpass: The Assessment Platform includes an auto-updating secure delivery client, which can be easily installed on test centre computers. This…

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Filed under: A Day in the life, BTL News, Case Studies, International, Surpass Platform, Video, e-Assessment

National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) in the U.S.A. chooses Surpass for high-quality assessment production for healthcare professionals

14 June 2017

Through a unique development relationship, NBME will realise its vision for a more efficient and innovative examination content creation and management tool using BTL’s Surpass: The Assessment Platform. BTL are delighted to announce that, following a successful Proof of Concept (POC) project, Surpass: The Assessment Platform has been selected to be NBME’s single platform for the creation and management of exam items. BTL’s Surpass platform will enable NBME to realise its objective to streamline and improve the efficiency of assessment operations, while continuing to maintain NBME’s reputation for high standards in medical examination authoring. NBME, which has headquarters in Pennsylvania,…

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Filed under: BTL News, Industry News, International, Press Release, e-Assessment

With the latest features added to Surpass, your tests can be even more dynamic, collaborative and vocal than ever before.

7 June 2017

The most recent update of Surpass: The Assessment Platform brings with it a number of new features sure to benefit your organisation’s question authors, test creators and candidates alike. These features provide Surpass Community members with even more opportunities to deliver dynamic assessments, including tools for interacting with complex source material. Also included is extended media support for audio playback and candidate speaking assessments. In addition, new collaboration tools let you work more effectively as an authoring team. As always, existing Surpass Users can find a comprehensive, detailed list of updates on the Surpass Learning Portal. For more details on…

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Filed under: BTL News, Services, Surpass Features, Surpass Platform, e-Assessment

The Surpass Community unlocks the potential of End-Point Assessments – Discover more in the EPA Webinar Series.

31 May 2017

In May, BTL hosted the first of 2 webinars designed to provide Surpass Community members an insight into how Surpass can be used to enhance the delivery of End-Point Assessments (EPA) for the UK Apprenticeship reforms. The BTL team demonstrated key features within Surpass that not only improved the breadth of the question types available within the EPAs, but also how Surpass can be used to share and collaborate, potentially reducing setup investment and unlocking ROI from the 20% capped delivery charge. In addition to the webinar, Tim Burnett from BTL explained to delegates attending the recent e-Vocational Leeds conference,…

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Filed under: BTL News, End Point Assessment, Industry News, Surpass Platform, Video, e-Assessment

e-Assessment Question Conference and the International e-Assessment Awards 2017 – What did we all take away?

Dr. Bob Gomersall, BTL Chairman, accepting the Lifetime Contribution Award at the first e-Assessment Awards.

31 March 2017

The 15th annual e-Assessment Question Conference is celebrating its most successful year yet, with delegates from around the world coming together to hear about the latest innovations under the theme ‘e-Assessment: commissioning, implementing and delivering’. So what were some of the key take-aways from this year’s conference? 1: So much has changed, but there is still a way to go. The conference began with a Keynote from Dr. Bob Gomersall, chairman of BTL Group and Virtual College, reviewing the evolution of assessment. Using a wide range of BTL customer examples, Bob challenged the audience to find ways in which technology…

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Filed under: Ceremonies, Conferences, Industry News, International, e-Assessment

Surpass Spring Update: Diagram Creator, High Fidelity Image Viewer, Item Relationships and more.

30 March 2017

The latest updates to Surpass: The Assessment Platform has seen some exciting new functionality added for both test creators and candidates, including the addition of our award winning High Fidelity Image Viewer* and the new Diagram Creator for Essay and Spreadsheet question types. In addition to these new features, Surpass also continues to re-enforce its accessibility support. Question authors can now easily include assistive audio files for a variety of question types, and test delivery is now supported in an additional 30 languages; including Japanese, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), Russian and Portuguese. More information on the Diagram Creator and the…

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Filed under: BTL News, Surpass Platform, e-Assessment

Breaking News: Surpass wins top prize for assessment innovation

High Fidelity Image Viewer in action

8 March 2017

The new Surpass High Fidelity Image Viewer collected a top prize at the Association of Test Publishers Innovations in Testing Conference today (Tuesday 7th March) in Scottsdale, AZ. Andy McAnulla, CTO at BTL, was successful in being awarded the Judges’ Award for Innovation having faced tough competition during the first Innovations Lab. Andy delivered a fantastic and inspirational presentation, and provided some excellent answers to searching questions by the veteran judging panel. The Surpass High Fidelity Image Viewer has been designed to deliver super high resolution image sets during medical examinations. The viewer is easy to use by both candidates…

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Filed under: BTL News, Industry News, International, Press Release, Surpass Platform, e-Assessment

SurpassPaper+ Product Update

6 January 2017

SurpassPaper+ has been hailed as the evolution of assessment, a bridge between paper-based testing and computer-based testing (CBT). 2016 saw candidates taking the first live tests in participating pilot schools across the UK. Sometimes the app was being used by the whole class, other times as a blended approach with candidates either writing or typing responses to the same exams. Feedback has been positive with a number of different organisation types seeing a large range of benefits. Within the schools’ community, particularly SEN classes, exam officers see SurpassPaper+ as a great time saver for both the setup and invigilation of…

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Filed under: BTL News, Industry News, Services, Video, e-Assessment

This Year in Assessment: 2016

13 December 2016

As the year draws to a close, we round up some of the fantastic achievements and developments that have happened in the Surpass community over the past 12 months.

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Filed under: BTL News, Industry News, International, Opinions, Surpass Platform, Video, e-Assessment

10 Benefits of On-screen Question Authoring

27 September 2016

Creating engaging questions in Surpass can be as painless as writing an email. Using a sophisticated assessment authoring solution to create a central repository of question content is considered to be best practice when it comes to the creation of on-screen and paper-based examination content. Question authors often come from a variety of professional backgrounds with different experiences in item authoring. Although they are subject matter experts, the whole process would undoubtedly benefit from a degree of structure and consistency, particularly when working with distributed teams with mixed levels of experience. By using on-screen authoring tools, the quality and creativity…

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Filed under: BTL News, Opinions, Services, e-Assessment

How do we realistically support the growing demand for using computers in final examinations?

29 July 2016

Teacher feedback demonstrates that there is a growing problem. As technology uptake grows in the classroom and the workplace, approaches to learning and employment become separated from the world of final examinations. As a result, schools will be reluctant to invest time and money in technology-enhanced learning unless realistic solutions that work with the national examination structure are produced. In July, BTL ran a teacher workshop in Leeds and it revealed some interesting problems for the future of examinations. To date, using paper and pen within an exam has been part of a learning cycle, but that learning cycle is…

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Filed under: BTL News, Case Studies, Opinions

Saxion University of Applied Sciences share their thoughts on digital testing using Surpass

14 July 2016

Established in 1998 and with roots dating back to 1875, Saxion University of Applied Sciences (known in their local tongue as a Hogescholen) are no strangers to technology. Like many Higher Education institutions across Europe, Saxion value the use of technology in education and have been advocates of on-screen testing for some time, because the advanced analysis functions allow exam technicians to make sure that the exams being delivered are the most fair and accurate way of assessing those students. In 2012, after reviewing several systems as part of a rigorous tender process, Saxion made the decision to move away…

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Filed under: A Day in the life, Case Studies, International, Opinions, Surpass Platform, e-Assessment

Small changes bring huge new benefits to Surpass

19 May 2016

New additions to the Surpass Assessment Platform are now available. This latest update brings with it a host of new features designed to allow more freedom and variation in the way you create, deliver, and report on the millions of tests taken through Surpass each year. Read on to discover how you can benefit from just a few of these exciting updates. New Ways of Awarding Marks Two of the most exciting and noticeable changes in the most recent Surpass update are the introduction of automated ‘weighted’ and ‘combination’ marking. Now, you can easily create multiple choice questions and award…

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Filed under: A Day in the life, BTL News, Case Studies, Services, Surpass Platform, Video, e-Assessment

NHTV Breda University choose Surpass the Assessment Platform

NHTV Breda Campus number 3

31 March 2016

Academic institutions in the Netherlands are well known for their positive attitude towards technology and its use in improving education and assessment standards for students. Now, after several years of research across the market, NHTV University has chosen the Surpass Platform to drive forward its use of technology in creating, delivering and reporting of assessments. “We are very happy to have selected BTL as our partner. The successes of Surpass in meeting the needs of institutions in the Netherlands has been core to our decision. ” Menno de Vos (NHTV Programme Manager from the Expertise Centre – E-learning & Learning…

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Filed under: BTL News, International, Press Release, Surpass Platform, e-Assessment

With tough questions and rich debate, e-Assessment Question 2016 looks set to take on the challenges facing the industry

15 March 2016

BTL are long-term gold sponsors of the e-Assessment Question conference, an important event in the diary of any future-thinking assessment provider. This year, BTL will be taking key parts of two high profile sessions during this intense two-day event. Working alongside customers, BTL will discuss: What’s the future for written exams? Tim Burnett will engage with delegates to discuss what the future holds for paper, a long standing method of delivery which still dominates the assessment process. Has it had its day? Is it time for revolution, or evolution? International Language Testing delivery with British Council. Jim Crawford from BTL…

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Filed under: BTL News, Conferences, Industry News, International, e-Assessment

Automate your assessment business

23 February 2016

Surpass, the assessment platform, now gives you more opportunities to automate your business critical systems with a range of new integration methods. With more options, you can become more efficient. Since the first version of Surpass, integration has been a key factor in its development. By working with early adopters of the system, it was clear that any successful assessment platform would have to work in harmony with other applications and services. With this in mind, we have created a series of data connections that allow Surpass to talk automatically with other key back office systems used by our customers….

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Filed under: BTL News, Industry News, Services, Surpass Platform, e-Assessment

New Year – New Opportunities for you with Surpass

21 January 2016

Stand out from the crowd with Surpass The latest feature-rich Surpass release helps you reach new continents, enhance the control of examinations and ensure candidates have every opportunity they deserve to succeed. Surpass customers already proudly stand out from the crowd, and with the new features introduced in the latest release, they have the chance to stand taller than they ever have before. New features like brand customisation, highlighting tools for candidates, timed sections and new delivery language support enable Surpass customers to have greater control over the assessment structure, enhance the candidate experience and take their brand to…

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Filed under: BTL News, Industry News, Services, Surpass Platform, e-Assessment

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