Record number of finalists announced for the 2026 International e-Assessment Awards

The e-Assessment Association has announced the finalists for the 2026 International e-Assessment Awards, marking the highest number of shortlisted entries in the awards’ history. A total of 48 finalists have been shortlisted, representing organisations across Europe, Asia, North America and Australia, and spanning the full breadth of assessment practice from schools and universities to professional certification and workplace assessment.

The awards reflect the continued growth and evolution of digital assessment across sectors, with this year’s entries highlighting:

• The expanding use of AI in assessment, particularly in content development, marking and test delivery
• Increasing focus on accessibility and inclusion
• Innovation in high-stakes, large-scale digital assessment delivery
• The application of assessment in workforce skills, certification and talent development
• The new and expanded categories for 2026 showcase how digital assessment is being applied in increasingly specialised and impactful ways.

Graham Hudson, Chair of the e-Assessment Association, commented: “What stands out this year is not just the scale of participation, but the maturity of the work being recognised. We are seeing organisations move beyond pilots to delivering robust, high-quality digital assessment at scale often in complex, high-stakes environments.

"The growth in AI-focused entries is particularly significant, but equally important is the strong emphasis on trust, accessibility and real-world impact. These finalists demonstrate that digital assessment is no longer emerging it is becoming the foundation of how assessment is designed and delivered globally.

"We congratulate all finalists for their outstanding achievements and contributions to advancing assessment across education and the workplace.”

Those in contention this year include:

Best Formative Assessment

• Singapore University of Social Sciences with AdLeS®: Transforming Formative Assessment through AI-Enabled Adaptive Learning
• PARAKH with Implementation of Holistic Progress Cards
• JUZ40 Education: EdTech with JUZ40

Best Summative Assessment

• Kaplan Assessments with Solicitors Qualifying Exam (England and Wales)
• Royal College of General Practitioners with A modern, standardised and patient-centred GP licensing assessment
• King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language with Hamza for Academic Purposes: A CEFR-Aligned Arabic Summative Assessment for Academic Readiness for Speakers of Other Languages
• Cambridge University Press and Assessment with Cambridge English Qualifications Digital for Young Learners

Best Workplace or Talent Assessment Project

• Brainberg Knowledge Solutions Pvt. Ltd. with Traitfit
• MeasureUp with iTalentUp by MeasureUp: Transforming Talent Pre-Screening Through AI-Driven, Skills-Based Assessment

AI in Content & Test Development

• PSI with Delivering measurable outcomes through agentic AI in test content development
• EPAM Systems, Inc. with The "Skill Evaluation-First" Paradigm: Scaling Global Expertise with a Multi-Agent AI Pedagogical Factory
• Surpass Assessment with Inteleos healthcare certification: AI-assisted item development with Surpass Copilot
• Janison with Jai - AI Assessment Management Platform - Chartered Accounts Australia

AI in Marking

• Henley Business School with AI-Supported Rubric-Based Marking and Feedback for Large Cohorts
• Vantage Labs with Twenty Years, Millions of Essays: IntelliMetric’s Fair, Reliable, and Valid AI Marking for the GMAT
• sAInaptic Limited with Leading the Way in Aquatic Education: STA’s Pioneering Use of AI to Streamline Marking and Feedback in Swimming Teacher Training
• Surpass Assessment with Exam marking in schools with Surpass Serenity
• University of North Carolina Greensboro with On the Consistency of Automatic Scoring with Large Language Models
• Stylus with stylus | KS2 Marking Service

Best Schools Digital Assessment Programme/Implementation

• Woodland Academy Trust with Changing Assessment Culture: From Retrospective Marking to Responsive Digital Practice
• Surpass Assessment with AI-enabled formative assessment pilot with NCFE and Surpass Tutor
• Oxford University Press with Transforming Language Certification in Galicia: A Scalable, Student-Centred Assessment Model
• Cambridge University Press and Assessment with Cambridge English Qualifications Digital for Young Learners

Best University Digital Assessment Programme/Implementation

• Universita' degli Studi di Padova with TAL B2 Reading & Listening Psychology
• Canterbury Christ Church University with Raising Standards at Scale: The EAF Digital Assessment Programme
• Newcastle University with Newcastle University’s Digital Exams Service
• University of Edinburgh with Learn Optimised for In-course Submission and Assessment (LOUISA)

Best Transformational Project

• Cambridge University Press and Assessment with Developing a new and improved digital assessment for Media Studies
• Qpercom with Transforming Assessment Integrity: A Fully Digital Evidence Verification and Appeals Management Framework

CIEA Educational Assessment Outcomes Award

• Brainberg Knowledge Solutions Pvt. Ltd.with Mission Margdarshan
• Education Quality and Accountability Office with No Rush Zone: How EQAO and Upper Canada District School Board Built Student Confidence and Care in Online Assessments

Excellence in Accessibility (A11Y) Award

• Cambium with Cambium Assessment’s Equity-First Digital Assessments
• College Board with The Bluebook Standard for Accessibility
• Education Quality and Accountability Office with Accessibility by Design: Transforming EQAO's Provincial Assessments for Every Learner

Most Innovative Use of Technology Award

• Duolingo with The Duolingo English Test Interactive Speaking Task
• Funscholar Innovations Pvt Ltd with ClassMap
• Cambridge University Press and Assessment with Cambridge English Qualifications Digital for Young Learners
• Excelsoft Technologies with AI-Powered Handwriting Transcription with Multi-Layer Analytical Validation: Building Trust in Automated Script Processing for High-stakes Assessment

Professional Certification Programme of the Year

• uxpertise with Raising Professional Standards in Ontario: A Modern Certification Programme Powered by Digital Assessment
• Financial Modeling Institute with Advanced Financial Modeling

Best International Implementation

• ExamOnline with A Unified, Secure Digital Assessment Implementation Across Nokia’s Global Operations
• Talview with Cambridge Linguaskill Global Implementation with Talview
• Open Assessment Technologies with One Platform. One Survey. Delivering PISA 2025 to the World — Online and Offline.

Best Research Award

• Cambridge University Press and Assessment with Comparability Evidence and Ongoing Assessment Insights from the Cambridge Digital Mocks Service
• Open Assessment Technologies with Quality-First AI Question Generation for Trustworthy e-Assessment
• Maryland Assessment Research Center with Item Difficulty Modeling Using Fine-tuned Small and Large Language Models

Further categories will be decided and revealed at the Awards Gala Dinner.

Now in their 10th year, the International e-Assessment Awards recognise excellence and innovation across the assessment industry, celebrating individuals, teams and organisations that are transforming how assessment is designed, delivered and experienced.

Winners will be announced at the Awards Gala Dinner, taking place during the International e-Assessment Conference 2026 in London this June, the world’s leading event dedicated to digital assessment.

The e-Assessment Association would also like to thank the volunteer judges, experts from across the industry who give up their time to review award entries and celebrate innovation, best practice, and the real-world impact our finalists represent. 

The Awards would not be possible without the support of the Awards Headline Sponsor, The British Council.