16th July 2026 Weekly Global News

This week's collection captures an assessment sector under pressure on several fronts at once. Artificial intelligence dominates the agenda, cutting both ways. Universities like NUS are harnessing AI to sharpen clinical training and Kolkata schools are using it to ease marking workloads, while Brown's cheating crisis, evidence of eroding maths skills, and South Korea's first criminal case over AI smart glasses show the same technology testing the limits of academic integrity. New York City has even paused edtech purchases until its AI guidance is finalised. Test security and integrity run through many of the stories, from South Korea banning smart glasses in exam halls and India threatening five-year jail terms for digital exam leaks, to a widely shared film exposing cheating and more than 100 US Airmen demoted after an exam error. Alongside these sit a series of high-profile failures and disputes over exam administration: California counting the heavy cost of a failed bar exam rollout and settling with its testing vendor, Quebec's results portal crashing, Portugal's marking fiasco heading towards legal action, and OCR defending its refusal to re-mark a contested GCSE paper. Elsewhere, the collection looks to the future of assessment itself. There are questions about whether institutions cling to flawed performance measures, debate over alternatives to the SAT and ACT, the University of California weighing Smarter Balanced scores for admissions, and India's 2027 NEET-UG moving to computer-based testing across more than 1,000 centres. Digital assessment's growing maturity is reflected in RM's extended ICAEW partnership and Talogy's tie-up with Symulate, while policy takes centre stage with Lithuania reversing its education reform and Bangladesh's Education Minister signalling a possible re-sit. Rounding things off, a Women in Leadership survey turns attention to equity and career progression across the assessment industry. Taken together, the week paints a picture of a sector grappling with rapid technological change, heightened scrutiny of fairness and security, and a renewed appetite to rethink what good assessment really looks like. Disclaimer The Test Community Network curates and shares links to third-party news articles, content, and resources for the information and interest of our community. These items are selected to reflect current developments in the global assessment sector. The views, opinions, and information expressed in the linked content are those of the respective authors and publishers, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of the Test Community Network, its members, or its partners. We do not author, own, endorse, verify, or take responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any third-party content. Links are provided for convenience and reference only. The Test Community Network has no control over the content, availability, or practices of external websites, and inclusion of a link does not constitute endorsement of the source, its content, or any products, services, or views it may contain. Any reliance you place on such content is strictly at your own risk. By following external links, you leave the Test Community Network's platform and are subject to the terms, conditions, and privacy policies of the destination site. We accept no liability for any loss or damage arising from your use of, or reliance upon, any third-party content accessed through this collection.