NEWS: Digital Assessment 2024 Wrap-Up

Simon Bell
Vice President, Business Development & Partnerships
5 min read
In 2024, the digital assessment landscape underwent significant transformations, driven by rapid technological advancements and evolving educational needs. A pivotal development was the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into assessment tools, enhancing personalisation and efficiency. AI-powered assessments now adapt in real-time to individual learner responses, providing tailored feedback and streamlining grading processes.

The shift towards digital examinations gained momentum, with major examination boards initiating plans to transition from traditional pen-and-paper formats to digital platforms. For instance, AQA announced intentions to introduce digital exams in select subjects by 2026, aiming for widespread adoption by 2030.

This transition is designed to align assessments with the digital proficiencies of contemporary learners, offering benefits such as enhanced accessibility and streamlined administration.

However, the rise of generative AI tools, like ChatGPT, has presented challenges to academic integrity. Studies indicate that a significant proportion of students utilise AI for assignments, often without perceiving it as misconduct.

Celebrating 20 Years of Innovation in Digital Assessment

This year marks a significant milestone for us – our 20th anniversary. What began as a simple idea conceived by two students seeking to improve the efficiency of feedback and grading for their peers has grown into a transformative force in the world of education. Over the past two decades, we’ve evolved from a single-purpose tool into a comprehensive, end-to-end digital assessment platform that empowers educators and learners around the globe.

The journey has been one of constant growth and adaptation. In the early days, our focus was on simplifying grading processes and enabling faster feedback cycles. Today, our platform integrates cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), adaptive assessments, and streamlined grading workflows to deliver a seamless experience for institutions, educators, and students alike.

As we reflect, we also look forward to the future. The rapid advancements in technology and the shifting educational landscape drive us to remain at the forefront of innovation. Here’s to the next 20 years of reimagining digital assessment and empowering learners everywhere.

Expanding Horizons: Launching Our Advisory Board and Product Updates in 2024

Building on the transformative momentum in digital assessment during 2024, we we’re thrilled to share some major updates that highlight our commitment to innovation and collaboration in education.

Introducing Our Advisory Board

In January, we launched our new Advisory Board, a key milestone in our mission to drive excellence in education and assessment. This diverse group of academics, with expertise spanning education, assessment, and emerging technologies, provides invaluable guidance to help us stay at the forefront of industry trends.

The Advisory Board focuses on four critical areas:

  • Innovative Assessment Methods: Exploring cutting-edge approaches to student evaluation.

  • Educational Technologies: Understanding the impact of new tools on teaching and learning.

  • Policy and Standards: Ensuring alignment with global best practices and regulatory frameworks.

  • Global Trends in Education: Integrating insights from diverse educational landscapes.

Their recommendations have already begun shaping our strategies, ensuring that our solutions remain aligned with the evolving needs of educators, learners, and institutions.

Partnership Success: Arden University

One of the standout successes of 2024 was our collaboration with Arden University, where we helped digitise exams and assessments across 32 countries. The project demonstrated the power of our solutions to support both in-person and remote delivery simultaneously, maintaining academic integrity while streamlining processes.

Following the success of Arden’s proof of concept and scaled deployment, we’re excited to extend the opportunity for other institutions to run proof of concepts in 2025. If this piques your interest, we’d be delighted to discuss how our solutions can support your needs.

Exciting Updates to Our Product Suite

We’ve also made significant enhancements to our product offerings, driven by feedback from our customers and our Advisory Board:

  • Assessment Studio: A comprehensive online suite designed for formative and diagnostic assessments, offering greater flexibility for educators and learners.

  • New Question Types: Expanding our capabilities with IDE coding and MS Excel-based questions, along with branching and adaptive assessments to provide personalised learner pathways.

  • Grading Suite Enhancements: Streamlined rubrics and grading processes now feature AI-supported grading, reducing time and effort for educators while ensuring accuracy.

  • AI-Supported Question Generation: Transforming content creation with AI, enabling educators to generate high-quality, tailored questions with ease.

These updates reflect our commitment to providing intuitive, forward-thinking solutions that enhance the assessment experience for educators and learners alike.

Looking Ahead

As we close 2024, we’re more inspired than ever to innovate and collaborate with our partners in education. The launch of our Advisory Board and the success of partnerships like Arden University have set the stage for an exciting future.

Maintain Support

Participants have access to a Text Reader which is designed to assist users with visual impairments, reading disabilities, or those who prefer auditory learning. It converts written content into spoken words, enabling users to listen to the text instead of reading it on screen. Operating the tool is straightforward for test takers: they can easily highlight the desired text and simply press play to have the text read aloud through their speakers or headphones.

We are continually evaluating and developing our services, web products, and solutions to improve against accessibility and design standards and best practices.

We are undergoing a WACAG Audit and will publish our accessibility statement once available. We are accessibility accredited by the Ministry of Education for our work in universities in the Middle East.

Participants have access to a Text Reader which is designed to assist users with visual impairments, reading disabilities, or those who prefer auditory learning. It converts written content into spoken words, enabling users to listen to the text instead of reading it on screen. Operating the tool is straightforward for test takers: they can easily highlight the desired text and simply press play to have the text read aloud through their speakers or headphones.

We are continually evaluating and developing our services, web products, and solutions to improve against accessibility and design standards and best practices.

We are undergoing a WACAG Audit and will publish our accessibility statement once available. We are accessibility accredited by the Ministry of Education for our work in universities in the Middle East.

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