Serious Games and Authentic Assessment with Jenn McNamara from BreakAway Games

In this episode of Tried and Tested, host Isabelle Gonthier, PhD,- ICE CCP, Chief Assessment Officer at PSI and ETS, sits down with Jenn McNamara, Vice President of Strategic Products and Partnerships at BreakAway Games. Recorded live at the ATP Conference, the conversation explores how serious games are being used to support authentic, performance based assessment across defense, healthcare, and professional credentialing programs.Jenn shares how game based environments can capture real world decision making, reduce traditional test effects, and provide richer evidence of readiness than item based assessments alone. The discussion also covers the role of AI in game design and assessment delivery, the importance of accessibility by design, and what emerging innovation trends signal about the future of assessment.What you’ll learn:How “serious games” are defined and how they differ from surface level gamificationWhy authenticity, particularly cognitive fidelity, matters more than visual realism in assessment designWhat immersive, strategy based environments can reveal about real world decision making, stress, and readinessHow independent research and validation help make game based assessment credible and defensible in high stakes contextsWhere serious games are most effective in assessment programs, and where assessment leaders should be cautiousHow AI is influencing the future of immersive assessment, including adaptive scenarios and content variation, while maintaining rigor and fairnessWho should listen:Credentialing and certification leaders exploring authentic or performance based assessment approachesAssessment professionals seeking new ways to evaluate decision making, judgment, and applied skillsPsychometricians and assessment designers interested in emerging item types and validation modelsProgram owners responsible for accessibility, candidate experience, and exam integrityTesting and education technology professionals tracking the role of serious games and AI in assessmentAbout the Guest:Jenn McNamara is Vice President of Strategic Products and Partnerships at BreakAway Games, focused on delivering immersive solutions for education, assessment, and performance support. With over 25 years of experience in cognitive psychology, serious games, and AI-driven systems research and development, Jenn is a recognized leader and trusted partner raising the standard of advanced, technology-driven learning and assessment for defense, healthcare, and corporate sectors. Jenn’s pioneering design and development approaches set the accessibility standard for serious games. She speaks frequently at conferences including I/ITSEC, ATP Innovations in Testing, Serious Play, and Games for Change. In volunteer support of the industry, Jenn also directs the nonprofit Serious Games Showcase & Challenge and serves in leadership roles with the NDIA Human Systems Conference, Serious Play Conference, and ATP Innovations in Testing Conference.