Featured Speaker Sessions
High-Tech High-Touch Workplace Improvement
PLEASE NOTE: Due to unforseen circumstances, this session has been cancelled.
Speakers: Matt Barney, LeaderAmp, Inc.; Shannon Spear Carter, Scrum Alliance
Technology offers a great opportunity to explore and understand information about an organization’s culture. However, it shouldn’t be used to label a workplace or a team “good” or “bad.” Instead, data can be used by teams and organizations to define focused areas for meaningful coaching, intervention or development, with the goal of taking an organization’s workforce engagement from solid to outstanding. In this session, participants will learn how to use technology to elicit meaningful data about workforce characteristics that can be used to define areas of opportunity. Additionally, coaching interventions and ideas will be shared so that participants can see how to apply and leverage assessment data.
Innovation Behind Bars
Speakers: Clay Mixon, ATLO Software; Devin Broome, ATLO Software
Any correctional employee can give you a list of why the internet has never been offered behind bars. We are here to give you a list of why it can. With the support of the Louisiana Department of Corrections, doors have been opened to find not only ways of improving education behind bars, but also providing never before imagined programs and certificates on a modern technology platform. With this new and innovative way of presenting information and learning strategies, offenders are able to re-enter society with a skill-set that sets them up for success and earn a living wage. Not only does this greatly enhance an ex-offenders chances of not re-offending, but it also contributes to filling high demand jobs that are location specific. This session will demonstrate the outcome of these groundbreaking innovations and invite the audience to have a first-hand look at the effect it has on the incarcerated and the society around them.
Workforce Skills Credential and Certification in Asia: Challenges and Opportunities
Speakers: Changhua Rich, ACT; Alex Zhang, Russell Reynolds Associates; Alex Tong, ATA Online (Beijing) Education Technology Co., Ltd.; Naotomi Umezawa, KUMON Institute of Education; Charles Singh, CompTIA Thailand
In this session, the panel of experts on testing and certification from Asia ATP will discuss role of workforce skills credential and certification in the changing labor market in Asia. The discussion topics focus on the talent mismatch, skills gap, and the need for education, and training systems stakeholders to respond more promptly to emerging skills needs. We explore employability such as the character skills, English communication skills, IT and technical skills employers value, training and assessment of the skills, migrant workers and skills assessment, EdTech trends and impact on testing industry. Panelists present wide-range of perspectives from China, Japan, Thailand, and Southeast Asia. We share the insights of opportunities and challenges for testing industry in the rapid changing markets in Asia. The session will also explore the trends of skills development, training and certification, and how the testing industry can influence and shape the assessment and certification in Asia. The audience will be invited to respond to questions such as: what are the current initiatives and roles we can play for designing assessment to address the skills development needs in Asia? What are the funding resources available for the skills development programs? How do we extend the assessment capability to recognize formal and non-formal learning skills and soft skills in Asia?
Envisioning Future Exam Security in Response to Evolving Technologies
Speakers: Rachel Schoenig, Cornerstone Strategies; James Sconing, Cornerstone Strategies
Artificial intelligence. Gamification. Stealth testing. Wearables. Technology is changing how test takers are assessed, what we are assessing, and how assessments are built. Are we prepared, as an industry and as exam security professionals, for the future? Are there potential ethical and legal implications concerning the use of these new technologies, or our methods of ensuring security? How must we transform our thinking to embrace or defend against new technologies? Will transformative assessment measures simply eliminate the need for exam security? This session will explore the evolution of threats to assessment, the impact of technology, and how we can chart a course to meet the challenges that lie ahead.
Fireside Chat
Speakers: Rob Pedigo, Pedigo and Associates; Andre Allen, Fifth Theory; David Foster, Caveon
ATP honors two distinguished individuals from the assessment community each year at the Innovations Conference. These individuals’ career achievements and contributions to testing have changed the face of assessment. Please join our two honorees for a fireside chat moderated by ATP Board member and Awards Committee Co-Chair Robert Pedigo. You will get to know the individuals and learn how these assessment leaders understand the present and the future of assessment.
A Survey of Recertification and Renewal Practices in Credentialing
Speakers: Amin Saiar, PSI Services; E.W. Looney, Brightlink; Kevin Bradley, HumRRO; Michael Peabody, American Board of Family Medicine
We all know there are countless ways to go about the maintenance of credentials (that is, recertifying or renewing a certification or license) – and we know that it is sometimes a controversial topic, especially in recent years! But what do we know about what credentialing programs are actually doing in terms of maintenance of credential requirements? The Association of Test Publishers (ATP) Certification and Licensure division subcommittee on Recertification and Renewal surveyed credentialing organizations to identify trends and innovative ideas in recertification and renewal. Information was collected on recertification and renewal requirements such as continuing education, re-testing, self-assessment, and renewal periods. The survey also gained insights into market trends affecting recertification and renewal rates, other career pathway offerings, and credential-holder engagement strategies. The session presenters will discuss the fundamentals of recertification and renewal from a psychometric, program management, and technology perspective. The presenters will highlight key decision points regarding the development and communication of recertification and renewal requirements, as well as opportunities to engage credential-holders. The session presenters will also present findings from the Association of Test Publishers (ATP) Certification and Licensure division survey along with a live polling of the audience on selected questions from the survey.
Current Trends in Digital Learning Systems
Speakers: Yigal Rosen, ACTNext; Chris Dede, Harvard University; Dror Ben-Naim, Smart Sparrow
Several key developments challenge the field of learning and assessment technologies: An improved understanding of how people develop domain-specific and cross-cutting capabilities, evidence-centered design, and advances in artificial intelligence and learning analytics. Learning and assessment are intertwined into engaging and powerful experiences aimed to foster knowledge, skills and capabilities of all learners. In this Featured Panel Session, speakers from academia and industry will share and discuss key insights on research and development trends focusing on digital learning systems.
The Future of Apprenticeships and Assessments
Speakers: Michael Prebil, Center on Education and Skills at New America; Sarah DeMark, Western Governors University; Jennifer Oddo, IBM; Rob Pedigo, Pedigo and Associates
Many industries are facing challenges due to labor shortages and gaps between the skills workers possess and the needs of employers. Apprenticeships are one tool companies are using to address the growing need to train and upskill employees. Meanwhile, assessment-based workforce skills assessments are also utilized by a number of industries. Are apprenticeships and assessments mutually exclusive, or is there an opportunity for both to play a role in addressing labor shortages and skills gaps? Join us as a panel of experts from a nonprofit online university, a think tank, and one of the world’s largest employers explore the pros, cons, and potential impact a growing trend for apprenticeships will have on the workforce skills assessment market.
What You Need to Know about Data Privacy Laws: International, Federal, State and Local
Speakers: Steven Stransky, ThompsonHine LLP
The proliferation of data privacy laws across international and domestic U.S. jurisdictions creates a significant compliance challenge for testing organizations. Overlapping coverage and differences in definitions or requirements complicate the task of developing a uniform approach to operational compliance procedures. This session will break down the complexity of the data privacy regulatory landscape into meaningful core elements to help reduce confusion and chart a coherent and defensible strategic compliance plan for the evolving data privacy legal environment.
Gamified Assessment in Employee Selection: Development, Validation, and Technology Advances
Speakers: Robert Gibby, IBM; Matthew Neale, Revelian
In this workshop, Dr. Robert Gibby, Chief Talent Scientist at IBM, and Dr. Matthew Neale, Chief Psychology Officer at psychometric assessment firm Revelian, present a series of case studies covering the development, application and evaluation of gamified psychometric assessments for employee selection purposes. The case studies illustrate how gamified assessments can be developed and validated, how they contribute to the talent attraction and identification process at IBM, and how they contribute to recruitment outcomes.
In particular, the case studies will explore the unique contribution that gamified cognitive ability assessment can play in a recruitment environment that is increasingly focused on big data and AI and increasingly sceptical of the value of psychometric assessment. Over the past three years, Revelian has been working with IBM and other partners to develop psychometrically robust gamified assessments of cognitive ability. In this workshop, Robert and Matthew describe the gamification process and how it can be used to bring rich behaviour samples, advanced analytics and engaging candidate experiences to the employee selection process.
Participants can expect an interactive and engaging workshop during which genuine issues, dilemmas and opportunities in the area of gamified assessment will be discussed.
Meeting the Data Privacy Challenge: Complying with Multiple Laws in a Global Testing Environment
Speakers: Gary Behrens, FifthTheory, LLC; Cordell Jung, NCS Pearson; Marc Weinstein, Caveon Test Security; Steven Stransky, ThompsonHine LLP; Allison Mulford, Prometric
Data privacy specialists within and outside the testing industry will discuss the challenges faced by assessment programs in complying with a proliferation of data privacy laws around the country and around the world. Panelists will offer pointers and ideas for achieving and maintaining compliance based on experience and insights. Attendees will be invited to ask questions and share perspectives as we seek consensus on the similarities of, and conflicting requirements between, privacy laws in different jurisdictions that may help inform best practices.
Measuring Competency or Redefining the “Test”: Games and Simulations as Disruptive Assessment Tools
Speakers: Jennifer McNamara, BreakAway Games; David Seelow, The College of Saint Rose
Traditional standardized tests typically take place at a single point in time, for a circumscribed time, and are administered primary through multiple choice or standard short form responses. These methods simply do not adequately assess the layered, interdisciplinary skills demanded by today’s complex connected world. These skills such as systems thinking, inter-cultural competence, collaboration, solving ill-structured problems, and creativity, all cross disciplinary or content domains. In his book The Future of Mind, the distinguished physicist Michio Kaku describes how intelligence now correlates best with complexity and that the only effective way to measure intelligence today would be through a game, “Instead of measuring a person’s ability to simply assimilate information, this new method [a game based on future scenarios based on current situations]would measure a person’s ability to manipulate and mold this information to achieve a higher goal” (pp. 138-139). This is the kind of future assessment more organizations and assessment experts should be working to develop. Game Based Assessments (GBAs) are emerging as a promising alternative to traditional assessments. Three types of GBAs indicate valid new ways to assess learning: 1) Evidence-based design - designing a game or game activity around a specific learning task, 2) Stealth assessment - a form of embedded assessment where assessment occurs at the time of learning and not post learning, and 3) Open World Games - these games allow for multiple learning paths, personalized learning, and the generation of massive learning analytics. In this session, participants will be introduced to these 3 GBA types and their related theories, experience example GBA application demonstrations, learn about the respective level of effort for development for each example GBA, and then engage in a brainstorming activity around applications of each GBA type for different assessment and organizational needs.
How is Globalization Shaping Assessment?
Speakers: Belinda Brunner, Inteleos; Stephen Flatman, Examinations Association of International Certified Professional Accountants; T. Jay Gerber, CSPO Global Certification Manager Scrum Alliance®; Sarah Pelter, Inteleos; Cynthia Woodley, Professional Testing Inc.
Globalization has become one of the buzzwords of our time. In the assessment community, globalization provides great opportunities for test owners to extend their influence beyond national borders. This in turn can lead to the creation of global standards and more 'portable' credentials for the workforce. But globalization does not come without its challenges for those involved in assessment and credentialing. It may require an entire re-examination of long-established test development and test delivery practices. What payment methods are commonly used in new geographic regions? What are the cultural norms of testing? How can testing in different languages be accommodated while maintaining comparisons across regions and languages? What different routes to eligibility must be considered? These are just a few of the questions that assessment organizations may be confronted with in a global assessment program. Panelists from assessment organizations at various stages within the globalization process will discuss these questions and more with fellow conference goers who may be facing similar challenges.
Teacher Leadership and Educator Ethics: Why Assessing These Domains Matters
Speakers: Katherine Bassett, Tall Poppy; Kelly Henson, Georgia Professional Standards Commission; Troy Hutchings, Educational Testing Service
Through the lens of the State Education Agency, research science, and practitioners participants will learn about the process for creating professional standards across jurisdictions, the decision-making process that occurs when a state decides to assess a new domain field, and why assessing leadership and knowledge of educator ethics is important for the education profession. This session will include interactive components in which participants will gain understanding of the domains of educator ethics and teacher leadership.
Modern Approaches to Assessment for Employment Selection
Speakers: Kelly Trindel, Pymetrics; Charles Scherbaum, Baruch College, City University of New York
Assessment for employment selection is high-stakes business with special ethical, societal and regulatory concerns for fairness and validity. Historically employment tests and selection procedures have been challenged on grounds that they adversely impact people from certain demographic groups and are not sufficiently job-related. Recent work in this space utilizes advances in assessment techniques and technologies which have the potential to substantially improve fairness and demonstrable job-relatedness. In this session presenters will provide a broad overview of relevant work in the areas of neuroscience, cognitive, social, and emotional assessment as well as gamification and analytic approaches borrowed from data science and artificial intelligence. Best practices and areas for further development will be highlighted.
Past, Present, and Future with Artificial Intelligence
Speakers: Ben Taylor, Ziff
Five years ago, data science and artificial intelligence (AI) was a whisper in the assessment space. Today it is top of mind, with assessment companies quickly adopting data science practices and new technologies like Deep Learning. In this session, we will cover what is hype and what is real by covering real deep-learning case studies with results. We will also demonstrate some concerning results to introduce AI ethics. The session will end with insights and methods that can be used to safely protect these new methods from bias and unwanted behavior.