News about BTL & Surpass

Accessibility in Surpass – June 2019 Update

14 June 2019

For Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2019, the team at BTL took an opportunity to demonstrate their work over the past year and show colleagues exactly how a person with additional requirements might use a screen reader (e.g. JAWs), or voice recognition software (e.g. Dragon), to assist them during the exam process. We receive a lot of interest from within the Surpass Community about how they can make the exam experience more accessible for their candidates, so Isabel and Ben filmed a short discussion and demonstration of some of those features, to give the audience outside of BTL an idea of…

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Filed under: Accessibility, Case Studies, Opinions, e-Assessment

Collaboration: Why working together achieves better results

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11 June 2019

The Surpass Community are no strangers to collaboration. Every year over a hundred representatives from the assessment sector gather for the Surpass Conference, eager to overcome shared challenges and present new ideas in assessment. In this article discover how you can benefit from being part of this collaborative community when it comes to Surpass feature development. Collaboration is one of BTL’s core values, and one we actively promote both internally with teams and colleagues, and externally with our ever-growing international customer base, which has now reached 180 organisations using Surpass. Approximately £7 million is invested into Surpass every year, with…

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

Assessment Technology Company BTL Group recognised for International Growth in The Sunday Times WorldFirst SME Export Track 100

31 May 2019

BTL Group have been recognised as one of Britain’s fastest growing small to medium-sized companies for international sales over the last two years, coming in at number 47 on the list. During this period, exported software and services accounted for 42.7% of BTL Group’s total sales revenue, with a two-year average international sales growth of 73.58% per annum. BTL Group was established in 1985 and is headquartered in North of England. Shifting their focus to assessment software in 2007 they have grown a strong community of customers both in the UK and around the world, with over 180 organisations currently…

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

Surpass HTML delivery achieves landmark accessibility status – Q&A with Leon Hampson

16 May 2019

Approximately 1 in every 5 people live with a condition which could affect the way they use and experience on-screen assessment. Having an accessible software application ensures that all users can perform tasks in roughly the same time, and with the same level of effort, regardless of age or ability. In an increasing number of countries, laws and policies are in place that require digital content to be accessible. These policies are primarily based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), with the goal of providing a single standard for web content accessibility that meets the needs of everyone. Surpass…

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Filed under: A Day in the life, Accessibility, BTL News

Latest features in Surpass – April 2019 release

2 May 2019

The latest release of Surpass includes some fantastic new features to help your organisation with assessment design and delivery. Georgie and Ashleigh from the Surpass Training team recently demonstrated some of the key enhancements in a Surpass Community webinar, which was broadcast live from the BTL offices on 16th April. If you weren’t able to join, you can catch up on the full recording here. In this short article we summarise some of the key features in the latest release. As always, more comprehensive details can be found on the Surpass Knowledge Base. If you’re an existing Surpass Community member…

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Filed under: Case Studies, Creative Item Authoring, Industry News, Pre-Release, Services, Surpass Platform, Video, Webinars, e-Assessment

Online Invigilation with The Association of Corporate Treasurers

27 March 2019

Over the last few months, The Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT) has been spearheading use of BTL’s newly launched Online Invigilation Service, an innovative approach to remotely-based candidates, using dual camera monitoring technology. The introduction of Online Invigilation expands BTL’s existing Test Delivery Services, which already includes the largest computer-based test centre network in the UK for session-based testing. The ACT has already delivered several successful exam series to candidates in convenient locations around the world using Surpass with Online Invigilation. The ACT has used a combination of live invigilation and the record and review method as part of the…

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Filed under: A Day in the life, BTL News, Case Studies, Industry News, International, Services, Surpass Platform, Video, e-Assessment, online invigilation, remote proctoring

Factors in growth – overcoming the barriers of qualification internationalisation with test centres and online invigilation.

20 March 2019

Growing your assessment programme internationally is often a huge logistical challenge. Before you begin to market your qualification there are several factors worth considering: Geographical spread of candidates Test session frequency Candidates’ availability for testing All of these factors can inform or even dictate the delivery methods an organisation opts for, but are you fully aware of the available options when it comes to reaching candidates? And how do you know which is the right option for you? This article aims to make it all clear with a look at these factors, and the advantages that Test Centres and Online…

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Filed under: Other

Q&A with Ceri Harper – find out more about BTL’s Test Delivery Services

4 March 2019

BTL offer a range of Test Delivery Services, allowing organisations to expand their reach, and have the confidence that tests are delivered securely and without issue, giving candidates the best possible experience. We spoke to Ceri Harper, to find out more about her role as Head of Test Delivery Services, and the services on offer. Ceri Harper – Head of Test Delivery Services Ceri heads up BTL’s Test Delivery Services team, a role which includes the management of our Test Centre Network and our Online Invigilation service. Ceri has a well established history in the assessment sector, having worked…

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Filed under: A Day in the life, Other, Services

SQA confirms its investment in cutting-edge technology for high-stakes e-assessment

20 February 2019

The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), are a founder member of the Surpass Community and innovators in e-Assessment. They have recently confirmed their commitment to using the latest technologies for the development and delivery of assessments, by renewing their contract with the award-winning Surpass: The Assessment Platform. A detailed press release is available to download in PDF format here: Read the full press release: SQA BTL Contract Signing 2019 SQA Chief Executive, Dr Janet Brown, said: “Today’s contract signing reaffirms the strength of SQA’s 10 year partnership with BTL Group, and our commitment to using technology to deliver the best possible…

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

Latest Features coming to Surpass – Winter 2019

24 January 2019

The next release of Surpass includes some fantastic new features to help your organisation with assessment design and delivery. Tim Burnett and Holly Nicol recently demonstrated some of the key enhancements in a Surpass Community webinar, which was broadcast live from the BTL offices on 22nd January. If you weren’t able to join, you can catch up on the full recording here. In this short article we summarise some of the key features going into the next release. As always, more comprehensive details can be found on the Surpass Knowledge Base when the release goes live. If you’re an existing…

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Filed under: BTL News, Feature Walkthrough, Other, Surpass Features, Surpass Platform, Video, e-Assessment

Developing Digital Assessments with telc Language Tests

23 January 2019

We were delighted to be invited to telc’s offices in Frankfurt, Germany, to speak to Sean McDonald and Rebecca Rosenlund about their journey into on-screen testing, and the success of their recent pilot project. By re-thinking their existing content as opposed to simply transferring paper content to on-screen, telc have utilised the functionality in Surpass to create questions that test multiple skills at once, in a context relevant to how students learn and apply their skills today. Stakeholder research informed the development of new content, and just some of the examples telc demonstrate include questions which ask candidates to listen…

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Filed under: A Day in the life, Case Studies, Creative Item Authoring, International, Video, Webinars, e-Assessment

2018: A Year in Review

2 January 2019

It’s been another incredible year for the Surpass Community. We’ve celebrated our 20 millionth on-screen test, held the biggest Surpass Conference yet, and launched a new online invigilation service. As well as all this, we’ve welcomed new organisations to the Surpass Community, and invested over £7 million into Surpass feature development, plus much more. Watch our year in review video (below) to find out more. Thanks to all Surpass Community members for their collaboration and hard work that make achievements like this possible. We’re looking forward to what 2019 holds!

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Filed under: BTL News, Case Studies, Industry News, Other, Video, e-Assessment

Latest Features added to Surpass – Summer/Autumn 2018

7 November 2018

There have been a number of new and innovative features added to Surpass over the last few months. Release 12.15 back in August saw the introduction of a new caliper tool, a new survey section type, and further enhancements to ‘Tasks’. More recently, the Autumn update introduced a new Likert survey question type, enhancements to bulk scheduling, and a new ‘Advanced’ mode of the Short Answer question type, plus much more. In this article, we will introduce just some of the most recent additions that can help the Surpass Community with assessment design and delivery. If you would like a…

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Filed under: Accessibility, BTL News, Other, Surpass Platform, Video, Webinars, e-Assessment

20 Million Cakes!

31 October 2018

Last month marked a huge milestone for BTL and the Surpass Community – 20 million on-screen tests delivered through Surpass, and what better way to share the success with our Surpass Community members, than with cake! The arrival of any sweet treat in the office is always sure to put a smile on everyone’s face, but it’s even more special when it marks the achievement of such a significant landmark. We received lots of lovely messages via social media from Surpass Community members as they received (and enjoyed eating!) their celebratory cakes. No doubt they didn’t last long if it’s…

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Filed under: BTL News, International, Other

20 million tests delivered through Surpass!

27 September 2018

This year the Surpass Community has achieved a significant milestone: together we have delivered our 20 millionth on-screen test! We’d like to thank all of the Surpass Community members who have contributed to us reaching this major landmark. Almost 3 million of those tests have been delivered just in the last year! So how did we get there? 20 million tests alone is impressive, but did you know that Surpass assessments are delivered in 125 countries? We’re proud to be trusted by some of the world’s leading awarding and professional bodies, to develop and deliver tests around the world. Surpass…

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Filed under: A Day in the life, BTL News, Industry News, Other, Press Release, e-Assessment

Accessibility in Assessment

18 July 2018

Inclusivity is a fundamental right for everyone. Together, as a community, we need to ensure that we are heading in the right direction in order to make inclusivity a reality and not just a dream. Assessment is something that we all face at some point in our educational journey, so everyone needs to have the same opportunity to express themselves and to be rewarded for their efforts. We tackled this complex and often controversial topic in a recent webinar for the Surpass Community. Joining the discussion were members of BTL’s Accessibility Team, Leon Hampson and Isabel Holdsworth, along with content…

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Filed under: Accessibility, BTL News, Case Studies, Industry News, International, Opinions, Other, Services, Surpass Platform, Video, Webinars, e-Assessment

Latest Features Added to Surpass – June 2018

10 July 2018

The latest release of Surpass has seen a number of new innovative features introduced to the assessment platform. In this article, we will introduce some of the additions that are hotly anticipated by the Surpass Community. However, if you would like a more comprehensive overview of all updates, these are available, as always, from the Knowledge Base. If you’re an existing Surpass Community member you can contact your Account Manager for details of how to access this information. If you are not currently a Surpass user, and you are interested in finding out more about these, or any other features,…

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Filed under: BTL News, Case Studies, Feature Walkthrough, Industry News, Services, Surpass Platform, Video, e-Assessment

GDPR and beyond with BTL and the Surpass Community

26 May 2018

GDPR and beyond with BTL and the Surpass Community Like most, I’m sure you are now pleased that the GDPR 25th May deadline has passed. GDPR has been one of the biggest topics of the assessment community in recent months and perhaps it has only been the tip of the iceberg of a data cleaning revolution. Regardless of whether you are outside or inside of the EU, GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) will have had an impact on how you view, handle, store, and share personal data. BTL, like many of its partners, have worked hard to ensure that we…

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Filed under: BTL News, Industry News, Press Release, Webinars

Pre-Release Webinar

9 May 2018

The next Surpass Community Webinar will be announced shortly Below is the most recent Surpass Pre-Release Webinar: May 2018 – Surpass Pre-Release Webinar In this webinar, Tim Burnett and Jack Hobson explore some of the new features coming to Surpass in the next release. Highlights include: The updated Quality Review Panel Improvements to the candidate experience Enhanced HTML source materials If you have any questions about these features, or any other features with in Surpass, please get in touch with your account manager. If you are not yet a member of the Surpass Community, you can contact us using the…

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Filed under: Pre-Release, Video, Webinars

Latest Features Added to Surpass – Spring 2018

25 April 2018

The latest release of Surpass has seen a number of new innovative features introduced to the assessment platform. In this article, we will introduce some of the additions that are hotly anticipated by the Surpass Community. However, if you would like a more comprehensive overview of all updates, these are available, as always, from the Knowledge Base. If you’re an existing Surpass Community member you can contact your Account Manager for details of how to access this information. If you are not currently a Surpass user, and you are interested in finding out more about these, or any other features,…

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Filed under: Feature Walkthrough, Surpass Features, Surpass Platform, e-Assessment

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