The UK Government’s review of the Curriculum and Assessment system in England presents a significant opportunity to reimagine how assessments can support teaching, learning and qualifications in England. The e-Assessment Association (eAA) has provided evidence to this review highlighting the potential for digital assessment to transform learning and assessment.
Digital Assessment: An opportunity for improvement
Our submission drew on examples of best practice and innovation in the industry, emphasising four key ways digital assessment can enhance the current system:
- Improved Student Engagement
Adaptive tools and real-time feedback systems keep assessments appropriately challenging and relevant, motivating learners and supporting progression. - Reduced Teacher Workload
Automation and streamlined workflows allow educators to focus on high-value tasks such as personalized teaching strategies, reducing administrative burdens while enhancing the quality of teaching. - Greater Inclusivity
Tailored solutions address the diverse needs of learners, including SEND students, ensuring fair and equitable assessment experiences for all. - Enhanced Reliability and Improvement Focus
e-Assessment enables consistent and unbiased marking, supported by AI-driven systems that offer adaptive assessments, identify trends such as common errors, and provide actionable feedback. Improved data collection supports precise progress tracking and system-wide improvements.
In addition, digital assessment delivers measurable benefits:
- Engagement: Adaptive tools ensure assessments remain challenging and relevant.
- Efficiency: Automated workflows free up teachers for more impactful activities.
- Inclusivity: Tailored solutions address the needs of diverse learners.
- Reliability: Consistent, unbiased marking.
- Actionable insights: Data collection and swift feedback enables better tracking and drives improvement.
Examples of innovation and best practice
As part of our submission, we highlighted these projects that demonstrate the transformative potential of digital assessment. These examples are from winners and finalists of the International e-Assessment Awards demonstrating innovation and best practice across a range of contexts:
- Enablers that support attainment, progress, access or participation for pupils with SEND. Pearson’s research programme to investigate how to improve the accessibility of digital assessments to ensure they are as fair, valid and fit-for-purpose as possible. In emphasising and focusing on student voice, the impact on and experiences of SEND learners in relation to digital learning and assessment, the research findings included new insights into how we can better design and develop digital assessments – a currently under-researched and misunderstood topic.
- Support improvement in pupil progress and outcomes. Formative assessment digital assessment solutions to improve pupil progress and outcomes, such as Nurture. Developed by the social enterprise jumpAgrade, Nurture was designed to address educational inequities, particularly for students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. Nurture also integrates with Microsoft Teams and its research-backed framework is already used widely in schools across Ireland, the UK and Italy. The platform collects and analyses data, providing teacher with actionable information to refine their teaching approaches and provide powerful, personalised feedback.
- Reducing teacher workload and enhancing student feedback. Graide have developed an AI-Powered Assessment Platform which automates grading and provides consistent, tailored feedback. This reduces teacher workload and improves the quality of feedback for students.
- Using e-assessment for open-ended questions. NCFE and Bolton College have developed the FirstPass platform which delivers automated feedback on open-ended questions as students compose their answers, enabling them to refine responses before submission. It combines formative assessment with reduced marking time, allowing teachers to focus on more strategic teaching interventions.
- Assessing creative writing. Headteacher Steve Dew has been leading innovation in assessing creative writing using adaptive comparative judgement to improve assessment and make a positive difference to
- Accessibility and fairness. Pearson’s Remote Invigilation Service allowed students to complete International GCSEs, a high-stakes assessment, remotely, supported by secure, multi-camera monitoring systems. This also enabled SEND learners and students with anxiety or health issues to take exams onscreen or on paper in their chosen environment with adaptations like extra time and rest breaks.
- Using e-assessment for formative assessment at scale. AlphaPlus have been delivering adaptive formative assessments in Wales, demonstrating how technology can scale best practice across large populations. Informed by research throughout the process, this provides timely, actionable insights to both educators and policymakers, ensuring assessments align with national educational objectives.
Patrick Coates, CEO of the e-Assessment Association said, “e-assessment solutions offer a unique opportunity to create a more reliable, scalable, and inclusive system that supports both learners and educators. By reducing teacher workload and improving accessibility, these innovations ensure fair and efficient assessments that meet the diverse needs of students. The e-Assessment Association, backed by our extensive industry network and evidence-based expertise, is proud to contribute to this important review and share our insights to shape the future of education. We look forward to providing more evidence as this review progresses.”
About the e-Assessment Association
The e-Assessment Association (eAA) brings together a global community of assessment providers, technology experts, academics, and educational institutions dedicated to advancing the field of digital assessment. This extensive community of professionals gives us a comprehensive understanding of assessment technology and the knowledge to address challenges like ethical considerations, accessibility, and technological evolution.
Founded in 2008, we are a not-for-profit shaping industry best practice and promoting innovative, evidence-based solutions that respond to the needs of diverse assessment stakeholders. Our recommendations, driven by our mission rather than profit, offer valuable guidance for policymakers, educational leaders, and industry innovators shaping the future of assessment.
