SQA (and BTL) and the Future

Thinking about assessment? Think about…

Surpass

Introduction to BTLKeith Myers, Managing Director

1985 BTL founded by Dr. Bob Gomersall.

1986 Developed school e-Learning content for publication (in Science & Technology).

1996 Contract e-Learning development for public and private sector organisations.

1999 Formative and diagnostic assessment materials as part of e-Learning.

2003 Project Strategy and Deployment for Government learning & assessment programmes.

2004 High Stakes Examination Systems Provider - working with SQA.

2008 Created the Surpass Platform.

2012 Delivering assessments for the majority of the UK Exam Boards through the Surpass Platform.

2013 Launched the Surpass Editions Platform.

About BTL Group Ltd

250,000+ questions

created using Surpass.

5 million examsdelivered in the last 24 months.

100 million answersmarked per year.

6,000 centresusing Surpass to deliver tests.

95 countriesdelivering Surpass exams.

70% market share

of the largest UK Awarding Bodies.

Clients who use Surpass

• BTL makes a living by creating software products and licensing them to Awarding Organisations.

• Simple eh?

• How do we know what products and features to create?

So what do BTL actually do?

• I decide what will be the next “big thing”.

• We copy off competitors.

• We copy from other countries.

• We ask our clients what they want.

Which is the BTL Innovation System?

1. Directly.

2. User labs.

3. BTL “Suggestions”.

4. Collaborative initiatives.

How do we ask our clients?

• Only collaborative projects move forward.

• If we can’t find a single Awarding Body to support us with a specification, joint funding or piloting, it does not happen.

What goes ahead?

• Continued reinvestment in the software.

• Clients see that they are shaping the products and have confidence in the future.

• This is a crucial USP for BTL.

This process works

• Not changing everything in 10 years.

• Support paper based and onscreen.

• The system must permit further evolution.

Evolution not Revolution

1. More efficient

2. More effective

What will SQA need to do in the future?

“Doing Things Right”

“Doing Right Things”

1. Black stuff pumped from the North Sea.

2. Grey matter in young peoples heads.

What is Scotland's most valuable resource?

1. Administering qualifications.

2. Deciding who to send which certificates to.

3. Allocations of rights and privileges to jobs, training and universities.

What is SQA for?

What if there were no qualifications?

• Tradition

• Patronage

What is SQA for?

• The fair allocation of opportunities for the countries most valuable resource.

• A fundamental part of our meritocracy.

• OMG! So in a rapidly developing and changing society SQA steer the future of students and so allocate societies most valuable resource!

What is SQA for?

It sets tests to judge students:

1. What they can do

2. What they can’t do

So how does SQA differentiate between students?

• 30 years ago study, leisure and work were face to face or paper based.

• So paper based assessment system was entirely valid.

• Now, how appropriate is it?

• Actually, quite good.

• But for how long?

So how does SQA differentiate between students?

“Electronic format”

So how will SQA differentiate between students?

SQA’s system of innovation

• Trial, Experiment & Learn

• Direct comparisons with existing paper based qualifications may not always be possible.

• Sorry. I don’t bring the answer as to what the future will be.

• I only bring the process for you to work it out.

SQA’s system of innovation

1. Evolution not revolution.

2. Students no longer use paper for study, leisure and work. We simply can’t expect them to demonstrate what they can do on a piece of paper.

3. We are working with SQA to address this:

1. without changing anything else.

2. by collection and evaluations of digital evidence.

4. Tablets.

5. BYOD.

My expectations for the future

• SQA is BTL’s best development partner:

• Collaborative

• Coherent

• Innovative

• Like all our Awarding Body clients, constantly held back by searching for like for like comparability between paper based and onscreen exams.

Reflections on our partnership

1. Across the world, everyone believes that national assessment need to change.

2. No one has produced that solution.

3. SQA is very well placed to lead across the world.

4. OMG!

The Opportunity