News about BTL & Surpass

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

2015 – BTL Learning & Assessment present a year in review

11 January 2016

As we head into the new year, like many organisations we’re treating January as a time to reflect on what we have achieved alongside our partners in the past twelve months. 2015 started out like any other, with the team working hard on innovations within Surpass, but behind the scenes a number of projects were coming to fruition to make our 30th anniversary year one to truly remember. If you don’t have time to read the summary below, we’ve created a short highlights video too that you can share with your colleagues: So, where to start? BTL is proud…

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Filed under: BTL News, Case Studies, International, Opinions, Surpass Platform, Video

The 2015 Surpass Conference Summary

22 December 2015

As an organisation, one thing we value above all else is our founding principal of using technology to improve learning and assessment. We want our partners to share our passion, and we regularly come together with those partners to discuss the industry, share thoughts and opinions and, ultimately, work together to create a product that meets a unified goal – better assessments for candidates. We are thrilled whenever we get to talk to our partners because of the enthusiasm and insight they bring to the roadmap of Surpass, and in addition to regular face-to-face meetings, video calls and site visits….

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Filed under: BTL News, Case Studies, Conferences, Industry News, International, Services, Surpass Platform

New software from BTL promotes the evolution of paper exam delivery

4 December 2015

SurpassPaper+ is assessment software designed to help test centres deliver exams in the same way they always have, but using a secure word processing app designed specifically to capture typed responses in exams.

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Filed under: BTL News

BTL Announces Partnership with Prometric

23 September 2015

BTL Announces Partnership with Prometric. We are delighted to announce that Prometric has selected Surpass as its primary assessment platform to support the delivery of high-stakes assessments for Prometric’s 8,000 test centres in more than 160 countries. Following a worldwide review of the market and available technologies, Prometric chose Surpass due to its ability to support a robust and scalable multi-device delivery strategy with an easy to use and intuitive experience for candidates and learners. Prometric, based in Baltimore, MD, is a market leading provider of technology-enabled testing and assessment, with candidates taking more than 9 million tests each year….

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

AQA set out their vision for the future of assessment

8 August 2015

AQA logo AQA, a long-term customer of BTL Learning & Assessment, have recently published a collection of essays which summarises 2 years of research into the future of assessment. The future of assessment – 2025 and beyond – is positive step for the assessment debate. Rather than picking apart the past, it looks at the future vision of how assessment could be made better. It focuses on the needs of students and teachers, and opportunities which are available both through process change and through the appropriate application of technology. See the “AQA – THE FUTURE OF ASSESSMENT PDF” Reflecting on…

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Filed under: Industry News, Opinions, Video, White Papers, e-Assessment

Surpass summer release (version 12) goes live

3 August 2015

As part of our continuing enhancement of Surpass, we are proud to say that the summer 2015 release has gone live to customers. This release is full of features which will help our customers grow their assessment activity, become more efficient and widen their assessment scope. So, what has changed in Surpass this summer? Table Question Type Tabular presentation of data is an important part of assessment, either for candidates to use as an information source, or for authors to provide a partially completed data set for the candidate to complete. Reporting Shakeup Our approach to reporting is to provide…

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Filed under: BTL News, Industry News, Press Release

BTL Learning & Assessment leads the debate on technology in assessment at the House of Commons

27 July 2015

Attendees listen to talks given at the House of Commons Churchill Room for BTL’s 30th anniversary forum. In June, as part of its 30th Anniversary, BTL Learning & Assessment hosted a forum at the House of Commons with contributions from guest speakers Nicky Morgan MP (Secretary of State for Education for the UK Government), Chris Jones (CEO and Director General of City & Guilds) and Prof. Peter Twining (Education Technology Action Group (ETAG)). Despite the speakers each approaching the subject from their own unique viewpoints and experiences of technology in learning and assessment, the message was consistent. In a world…

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

High Stakes Testing on Tablet Devices

26 June 2015

Originally presented at the 2015 e-Assessment Tomorrow conference, listen to Jim Crawford from BTL Learning & Assessment talk through the challenges of delivering summative assessment on tablet devices, and the views our customers have on this new channel of delivery: Changing Technology Tablet technology is a rapidly changing channel of delivery with new devices and software being released on an almost weekly basis. This is a challenge to providers of app-based summative assessment. Hear how BTL has tackled this with its Surpass Delivery application for iOS and Android. Unsuitable User Interfaces For delivery of traditional assessments, such as 3 hour…

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

WJEC Renew Their Investment in e-Assessment With Surpass

19 June 2015

WJEC and BTL Learning & Assessment are pleased to announce the renewal of the contract for supplying the Surpass Assessment Platform for the creation, management and delivery of e-Assessments for use in GCSEs and Functional skills qualifications. WJEC were one of the first UK Awarding Organisations to invest in Surpass after it was launched in 2007. They have taken advantage of its advanced abilities to create and deliver engaging on-screen examination content to be used in summative high-stakes delivery. The content created by WJEC has provided a glimpse into the future of rich media and simulation-based assessments, and the platform…

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Filed under: BTL News, Industry News, Surpass Platform

3 Perspectives of e-Assessment implementation

28 May 2015

Customer, Consultant and Supplier – A presentation from AO Forum 2015. Gordon Associates, in partnership with the Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB), played host to a large number of UK-based organisations this week at the annual AO-Forum in Holborn, London. This one day event drew a large crowd who were keen to hear updates from Ofqual and The Skills Funding Agency, along with discussions on open source technologies, sales in the awarding sector, validity and e-Assessment. It was a jam-packed day with plenty of interesting presentations and opportunities to network and discuss the sector with peers. BTL’s very own Tim…

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Filed under: BTL News, Conferences, Reports, Seminar, e-Assessment

The Death of the Desktop?

26 May 2015

In March 2015 it was reported that for the first time in history, mobile-only Internet users now exceed desktop-only users [1]. This landmark in the evolution of the internet represents a significant shift in when, where and how we communicate. The recent revolution in Smartphones and Tablets are obviously a major reason for this, alongside the supporting mobile data network, but does this mean the death of the desktop? The desktop has been the mainstay of the computer revolution, and other than the depth of the monitor, the shape of a Desktop unit hasn’t changed since they started to go…

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Filed under: Industry News, Opinions

SQA offers video advice for assessment management, including its use in ‘Trailblazer’ Apprenticeships.

12 May 2015

With over 90 years of experience in assessment, BTL Learning & Assessment partners, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), are in a perfect position to offer advice and best practice on e-assessment, particularly to those setting up Trailblazer qualifications. SQA consider themselves experts in assessment, and quite rightly so. The organisation works with schools, colleges, universities and training organisations to develop and deliver qualifications and assessments as two distinct operations, SQA Accreditation, and SQA Awarding Body. Around 15,000 teaching professionals and industry specialists support SQA operations annually, helping to ensure that these qualifications accurately reflect learners’ knowledge and skills and provide…

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Filed under: Industry News, Opinions, Reports, Video

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