Authentication

Pro! introduces several improvements to streamline the authentication experience while enhancing security and usability.  Key updates include:

• MFA Usability Improvement: Users can now press the Enter key to submit their verification code in the MFA input field, eliminating the need to manually click the Verify button.
• Authenticator Guidance: The User Profile page now includes information and links to download and install Microsoft Authenticator as one of the recommended authentication options.
• Enhanced Security Communications: Forgot-Username and Password emails have been updated to align with modern security standards and best practices.
• Branded Login Experience: The “Logging In” page has been updated with Strasz branding, providing users with clear confirmation that the page is secure and can be safely closed once the application launches.

User Management

Additional user management updates were made to streamline role assignments and improve administrative control. As part of this enhancement, roles have been refined to focus on essential permissions, reducing complexity and improving usability. For example, the following Campaign Edit roles have been removed and replaced with a general Manage permission that combines both Create and Edit rights.

• Campaign Edit Exhibit — previously required to create and edit Exhibit Writing Projects
• Campaign Edit Item Writing — previously required to create and edit Item Writing Projects
• Campaign Edit OCR — previously required to create and edit Online Committee Review Projects

Find and Replace

Pro! now includes a Find and Replace capability designed to streamline content editing across item components. This enhancement allows item editors to quickly locate and update specific words or phrases without manually scanning and editing each field.

The search function operates across all core item content, including passages, item stems, answer choices, and their associated rationales. Text fields such as item name and description are excluded.

Users can perform sequential searches using Find Next and Find Previous, which will automatically locate the first occurrence on initial use and continue navigation across editors in subsequent actions. The feature supports finding all occurrences, replacing individual instances, or all occurrences within the item.

Find and Replace is available for all editable (non-locked) content and supports structured content, including tables, based on the defined search criteria.  When replacing text that includes formatting, the original formatting may not be preserved. Authors can reapply formatting as needed after replacement.

AI-Generated Rationales

Pro! has been enhanced with AI-powered capabilities to help create item rationales.. As part of the Single Selection Multiple Choice (SSMC) item authoring, authorized users—including authors, mentors, project mentors, and super users—will be able to generate rationales for items and/or answer choices using content from the Back Office, Remote Item Writing (RIW), and Item Review workflows.

Rationale generation can be initiated directly within the item editor. Users may choose to generate a rationale for the item-level, for one or more answer choices, or both. When invoked, the system securely processes the request and populates the associated rationale editor(s) with AI-generated rationale(s). If a rationale already exists, it will be replaced.

All AI-populated rationale fields will display a temporary indicator to denote AI-generated content. This indicator will be removed once the user begins editing the text and does not persist after the item is reopened. All generated rationales remain fully editable, allowing authors and reviewers to refine and validate the content to ensure accuracy, clarity, and alignment with program standards. Rationales are only saved upon user confirmation via the Save action, and items may be saved at any time.

This capability is configurable at the section level, allowing organizations to enable or disable AI rationale generation in accordance with their AI governance policies and infrastructure considerations.

The feature is also supported in Item Review workflows, where rationale editing is permitted. When item copies are created, associated rationales will be copied and updated accordingly.

To support auditability, each AI invocation is securely logged via the Audit Event Log (AEL), capturing the user, item identifier, and the selected generation options (e.g., item rationale, answer choice rationales).

Enhanced Accessibility: ADA Alternative Text for Item Context

Pro! is introducing enhanced accessibility capabilities to improve how item content is interpreted by screen readers across authoring, preview, delivery, and export workflows. This update enables authorized users to define alternate text for item content, ensuring that text is read accurately and consistently for all candidates.

Users can add or modify alternate text through the existing expression editor by selecting the “Regular Text” option and enabling “Display as Text” to maintain consistent formatting within the item. An optional alternate text field allows users to define what will be read by screen readers.

Alternate text is supported across the item’s lifecycle, key delivery and distribution channels, including:

• Browser-based test drivers such as Pearson VUE Athena Browser Edition and Test!
• Pro! Item Preview
• Poolbook HTML and XML exports and reports

This enhancement improves accessibility compliance while preserving item integrity, providing a flexible and controlled approach to optimizing screen reader behavior.

Item Writing Passage Assignments

Pro! is introducing enhanced support for passage-based item authoring, enabling project managers to incorporate pre-authored passages (case statements) into item-writing projects and assign item writers to develop targeted items aligned with those passages.

Within project setup, managers can select one or more existing passages authored in the Pro! back office and associate them with an item writing project. Project managers can define minimum and maximum item targets, assign item writers, and configure standard project settings (e.g., tasks, classifications). 

This feature is enabled through the Allow Passage setting and is available in both draft and active project states. Project managers can remove passages provided no items are in progress or submitted against them. 

In Remote Item Writing (RIW), item writers will have access to a list of project-associated passages when creating new items. Writers may choose to:

• Create a discrete item (no passage), or
• Select a preexisting passage and author an item aligned to it

When a passage is selected, it will be displayed in full—including any exhibits, tables, or supporting materials—in a read-only format above the item editor. This ensures consistency of source content while allowing multiple item writers to independently develop items against the same passage. Any issues identified with the passage can be communicated through item-level comments.

During item submission, items associated with a passage are initially validated as discrete items. Once validated, they are formally linked to the selected passage, and a snapshot—including the passage—is captured during the submission process. 

This enhancement provides greater flexibility for programs that rely on shared stimulus content, allowing multiple contributors to efficiently develop high-quality, passage-aligned assessment items while maintaining centralized control over passage integrity.

MathML Support for Equation Rendering and Accessibility

Pro! is enhancing equation publishing capabilities by introducing support for MathML output, improving both accessibility and candidate interaction within delivered examinations.

Currently, mathematical and scientific expressions authored in Pro! are rendered as images during exam delivery. While functional, this approach limits interactivity and accessibility—for example, candidates cannot highlight or strike through equation content, and equations do not adapt to interface features such as color contrast or background switching.

With this enhancement, Pro! can be configured to publish equations as standard MathML. This allows equations to render natively in the testing environment, improving usability and accessibility. In addition, any author-defined text descriptions for equations will be included as Alt Text within the MathML, ensuring screen readers interpret the content accurately.

Key capabilities include:

• Configurable Output Format: Section-level settings allow organizations to control whether equations are published as MathML or traditional image-based representations
• Improved Candidate Interaction: MathML-rendered equations support text highlighting, strike-through, and dynamic styling (e.g., color and background adaptation)
• Enhanced Accessibility: Screen reader support is improved through embedded alternate text aligned with equation content

• Browser-based test driver support, including Pearson VUE Athena Browser Edition and Test!

Back Office MSMC Support for Passage

Pro! has expanded support for MSMC (Multiple Selection Multiple Choice) within passage-based item authoring using the updated item authoring interface.

In the Back Office, passages can now include a mix of SSMC, MSMC, and Likert item types, providing greater flexibility when developing items aligned to shared stimulus content.

Note: In Remote Item Writing (RIW), item writers can associate MSMC items with preexisting passages.  Support for newly created passages and MSMC items within RIW will be introduced in the Pro! 5.4 release.

Pearson VUE – TSS Complier 2.25 Compatibility – Resource Path Updates

Pro! has been updated to ensure compatibility with TSS Compiler version 2.25, which enforces stricter validation of resource file paths during publishing. In this version of the compiler, resource paths that use backslashes will result in compilation errors. To address this, Pro! now standardizes all published support file paths to use forward slashes (/) to ensure successful compilation.

Improved Publishing Guidance for Unsupported Examination Types

Pro! now provides clearer, proactive guidance when attempting to publish examinations that are not supported from the examination listing page.  Previously, users could initiate publishing for certain non-Pearson examinations from the listing page, only to encounter an error later in the Activity Monitor. This update improves the workflow by identifying unsupported scenarios earlier and guiding users to the correct publishing path.

Consistent System Messaging and UI Standardization

All system messages—including alerts, confirmations, and notifications—now follow a unified design framework with consistent font usage, sizing, spacing, and button presentation. This ensures a cohesive look and feel across the application and improves overall usability.

Removal of Legacy Poolbook Print Features

Poolbook print request functionality is no longer used and has been removed from the user interface.  As part of this cleanup:

• The “View Print Requests” button has been removed from the Poolbook Details page
• The “Print Poolbook Request List” menu option has been removed

Item Writing Passage Assignments

See the Pro! Back Office Writing Passage Assignment section for complete details

AI-Generated Rationales

See the Pro! Back Office AI-Generated Rationales section for complete details.

Export Item Review Comments

A new Export option has been added to the Project Details page, allowing Primary Reviewers to export all public review comments for an item review project. This enables teams to track, analyze, and share feedback outside the item bank.  A complete set of comments at any point in the review lifecycle can be exported.

The system generates a CSV file using standard browser download functionality.  The exported CSV file includes the following fields:

• Passage Name
• Item Master Code
• Type (Item or Passage)
• Comment Author Name
• Comment
• Comment Creation Date

No Changes

See the Swagger documentation for API details

Pro! Back Office

• Fixes a visual overlap issue when performing user management bulk operations.
• Ensured Assigned Sections are correctly exported from user management.
• A change was made to address reported missing content changes.
• Resolved an error when auto-accepting Terms and Privacy Policies for newly created or migrated users.
• Project members appeared multiple times in the project member list due to their assignment to multiple sections.
• Improved scrolling behavior when selecting roles for users with a large number of roles.
• Addressed an issue encountered when printing an examination.
• Updated Bulk Update to follow Item Open logic, allowing processing of items with stale locks caused by timeouts without requiring manual reopen/close actions.

Pro! Remote Item Authoring and Review

• Fixed an issue where the comments area overlapped the content editor when resizing the Passage Details page.