IAEA 2026 Programme Live

IAEA 2026 Programme Live

AI, test security and global perspectives: inside the 51st Annual Conference in Toronto

The full programme for the 51st Annual IAEA Conference is now live, and it's worth a proper look. Taking place in Toronto from 27 September to 2 October 2026, this year's conference, themed "Trust, Transparency and Technology in Educational Assessment", is shaping up to be one of the most substantive gatherings in the assessment calendar. With over 300 delegates expected, four keynote speakers, and sessions spanning AI, test security, equity, data sovereignty and large-scale assessment modernisation, the programme reflects an industry grappling with questions that simply weren't on the agenda five years ago. Browse the full schedule here.

The conference is hosted by EQAO, Ontario's Education Quality and Accountability Office, in partnership with the IAEA and Vretta, and is organised around three tracks: Trust, Transparency and Technology. Tim Burnett, Founder of the Test Community Network and UK Ambassador to the conference, has been closely involved in supporting the event and is himself presenting two sessions during the week, one on AI-assisted item authoring workflows and one on assessment security in an AI-forward world, co-presented with Paul Muir, Chair of the Board of ATP.

"To truly understand the global picture of assessment, you need to sit in the room with a global representation. Many conferences are focused on their own regions and their own countries, and you lose the opportunity to learn from others around the world who face similar challenges but may already have a solution. Networking is a big part of the IAEA conference, and I look forward to making new friends in the assessment community."
— Tim Burnett, Founder, Test Community Network

The keynote programme frames the week around four distinct perspectives. Dr. Eunice Eunhee Jang (University of Toronto) opens the conference by arguing that the assessment triangle must now sit within a broader "assessment ecology", a dynamic network in which learners, educators, AI systems and institutions are all interconnected. Dr. Thierry Rocher, Director of Evaluation at France's DEPP, draws on thirty years of experience to explore three roles anyone in assessment must play: the metrologist, the messenger and the guide. Dr. Kadriye Ercikan (ETS) addresses how AI is placing validity, fairness and comparability under unprecedented pressure, particularly in multilingual and multicultural contexts. And Professor Mary Richardson (UCL Institute of Education) brings the learner perspective, exploring how assessment shapes identity and what it means to build systems that learners can trust.

AI runs through the wider programme like a thread you can't untangle from the fabric. Christopher Ormerod from the College Board presents work on using LLMs to simulate student responses and estimate item parameters before field testing. A dedicated NCME panel on Thursday examines responsible AI governance in educational measurement. And sessions on data privacy, algorithmic justice and digital transformation reflect an industry that has moved well beyond "should we use AI?" to "how do we use it well, and what are we not seeing?"

It's that last question, what are we not seeing, that sits at the heart of Tim Burnett's two sessions. On Tuesday, he presents "From Prompt to Publication: Designing Workflows That Make AI Item Generation Work", drawing on research conducted with awarding organisations and assessment vendors. On Friday, he co-presents with Paul Muir on rethinking assessment security for an AI-forward world.

"In the session with Paul, we'll be looking at test security both in centres and in online proctoring. I'm going to focus on some recent research I've been conducting on the influence of vibe coding, the ability for individuals without any significant coding experience to create cheating systems that are off-device and undetectable. It's quite an exciting piece of work, and quite a scary one in terms of its impact on the assessment community and the delivery of online proctored examinations. I'm also looking forward to presenting my work on AI item authoring, including more recent findings on how to ensure there's genuine value and effort in the loop, making sure that the items created at the AI point with the subject matter expert are of the highest quality, not just surface-plausible, so you don't push the real effort downstream into review."
— Tim Burnett, Founder, Test Community Network

Beyond the main sessions, the pre-conference workshops on the Sunday offer immediately practical content, from AI-supported mapping of complex skills in existing assessments to designing game-based formative assessments for mathematical thinking, to a workshop on accessibility and inclusion in digital large-scale assessments. There's also a guided day trip to Niagara Falls on the Wednesday, which past attendees describe as one of those experiences that turns conference acquaintances into lasting professional connections.

For organisations looking to gain visibility at the conference, the organisers have recently introduced a new Associate Sponsor category. With the higher-tier sponsorship packages now sold out, this new option has already generated considerable interest.

"There's been a lot of interest in the sponsorship opportunities this year, and the main packages are now fully taken. The new Associate Sponsor category was created to give more organisations a way to share their brand with a genuinely international audience of over 300 delegates, and at $500, it's probably the most cost-effective way to get your name, your logo and your materials in front of the global assessment community. You get a bag insert in every delegate bag, your logo on the conference website, printed banners on the conference floor and a listing in the printed programme. The deadline is 3rd September, so there's still time, but not a lot of it."
— Tim Burnett, UK Ambassador, IAEA 2026

The full programme is rich enough that it rewards time spent browsing rather than relying on a summary. Whether your work centres on large-scale national assessment, AI adoption, item development, equity and fairness, or security, there are sessions that speak directly to the questions you're working through. Explore the full IAEA 2026 schedule here, and visit iaea2026.org for registration and sponsorship details.