The e-Assessment Association is bringing assessment professionals, researchers, regulators and technology specialists together in Manchester on 10–11 November for AI in Assessment: From Theory to Practice.
The new residential event has been created in response to research into how the assessment community is using AI and the support organisations need to move forward responsibly.
The eAA’s 2025 research found high levels of interest but uneven experience, with 68.8% of respondents describing their organisation as just starting out. While organisations recognised opportunities to improve efficiency, feedback, personalisation and the use of assessment data, they also raised important questions about reliability, validity, fairness, governance and human accountability.
Emerging findings from the eAA’s ongoing 2026 survey reinforce many of those priorities. Respondents continue to ask for real case studies, practical workshops, ethical and regulatory guidance, and honest accounts of what has and has not worked.
Patrick Coates, CEO of the e-Assessment Association, said:
“The assessment community does not need more hype about AI. It needs evidence, practical experience and opportunities to ask difficult questions. This event will help delegates explore where AI can add genuine value, what safeguards are needed and where human judgement must remain central.”
The two-day programme has been structured around five stages: Understand, See, Try, Scrutinise and Decide. Delegates will explore practical applications, take part in workshops, examine evidence and discuss issues including validity, fairness, standards, regulation and responsible experimentation.
Sessions include:
- What the assessment community told us, Patrick Coates
A concise briefing on the April–May 2026 research into sector activity, concerns, needs and evidence expectations.
- Making AI-assisted assessment trustworthy at scale, Rajeshwari Iyer and Kavitha Ravindran
Real deployment, performance evidence, human oversight and implementation lessons.
- AI Foundations for Assessment, Tim Burnett, Education Tech Consulting Ltd
Practical workshop on AI foundations, model and tool choice, cost, prompting, building, evaluation and accountability.
- Human-led AI-supported assessment development in ESOL, Kelly-Ann Wickens, NOCN
How AI can support ESOL assessment development while expert judgement, validity and governance remain central.
- From Repository to Readiness: Making Assessment Data Intelligent with AI, Raiyyan Aftab and Nathan Walker
Demonstration of the CCT Readiness Engine using synthetic surgical-training data, with a clear audit trail and human decision points.
- Assessment is dead; long live learning! Gill Ferrell, Executive Director, 1EdTech Europe
A provocative look at assessment as learning, cognitive offloading, traceable evidence of learning, personalisation, privacy and the role of open standards in the age of AI.
- From blueprint to test form: a live look at AI-assisted exam development, Neil Wilkinson, Director of Product and Innovation, Certiverse
A live workflow covering AI-supported exam development, automated review, human approval points, limitations and lessons from use.
- Grounded in Practice: The School Leader and Practitioner Perspective on AI in Assessment, Victoria Merrick; Rowena Kidd, Deputy, Stretford High School (Curriculum, Assessment and Data)
A practitioner discussion bringing school leadership and curriculum, assessment and data experience into questions about adoption, implementation, provider learning and readiness for assessment reform.
- How Similar Is Too Similar? Rebecca Conway, Director of Research and Innovation, NCFE
Research comparing lexical similarity rankings with independent subject-matter-expert judgement and considering implications for AI governance.
- AI and grading in the Netherlands: exploring towards use in central examination, Paola Stam, Cito
Interactive prototype demonstration covering evidence, safeguards and implementation conditions for high-stakes use.
- From scripts to defensible decisions, Rakesh Sharma
Assisted evaluation, marker responsibilities, controls, audit trails and deployment evidence.
- Regulating AI in assessment: evidence, accountability and responsible experimentation, Graham Hudson (Chair); Maddy McKay, Ofqual; Dean Seabrook, Qualifications Wales, Matthew Wingfield (AO perspective)
A chaired regulatory conversation about current requirements, emerging thinking, evidence, human accountability, validity, fairness and responsible experimentation.
- From evidence to action: your next 90 days
Delegates record one proportionate experiment, the evidence required, expert ownership and a stop or go criterion for their own organisation.
The residential format will give delegates time to build connections and continue discussions outside the formal sessions, supporting open exchange between people with different roles and levels of experience.
By the end of the event, delegates will be encouraged to identify a practical next step for the following 90 days. This might be a carefully defined experiment, a governance review, a discussion with a regulator or a request for stronger evidence from a supplier.
AI in Assessment: From Theory to Practice is supported by headline sponsor sAInaptic and takes place in Manchester.
