How To Prevent Online Exam Cheating
Exam cheating online is becoming an increasingly prevalent problem that can have serious repercussions. It can inhibit student learning while damaging academic reputations. Furthermore, cheating decreases engagement levels among students and decreases quality exams.
1. Limit the number of questions
Students often cheat during online exams by gaining access to test questions or answers, but you can limit this type of cheating by hiding exam questions and blocking third-party sites like Quizlet and Chegg during exams in order to stop learners from accessing leaked questions.
Cheating during exams often occurs by copying work from peers. This method involves taking a screenshot of another student’s screen, using text editing software to remove any identifying details, then uploading this file back into an online exam system for submission. While not ideal, data forensics software can detect abnormal patterns of response time that indicate cheating behavior and therefore reveal cheaters.
Avoid cheating by scheduling multiple, short, low-stakes exams instead of one or two lengthy high-stakes assessments. This will make it harder for students to cram and cheat within a limited amount of time while simultaneously providing instructors the opportunity to monitor progress throughout the assessment.
Last, offering multiple versions of a test can help curb cheating. Students find it more difficult to copy each other’s responses if questions differ slightly, and you could even rearrange their sequence to prevent identical question sets being given to all students.
Example: Create pools of questions and design your exam to draw from them so each student receives an individual set. This prevents students from peer-checking or discussing exam content with classmates when taking the assessment again.
Reminding students about academic integrity policies before the exam begins can also be done through video. Make and post a video outlining assessment guidelines as well as reviewing any potential consequences listed on their syllabus for cheating on online assessments by hearing their professor discuss this policy will have an emotional impact and could prevent cheating from taking place.
2. Set a time limit
One of the main concerns among students taking online tests and exams is cheating. It’s understandable, especially as colleges shift away from paper-and-pencil exams toward online testing that can be taken from any location. There are various ways learners may cheat during an exam such as downloading or saving course content, working in groups online, sharing test questions with each other online, searching online for answers etc.
As an instructor of online courses, one way you can help prevent cheating during assessments is by setting time limits for them. Doing this will encourage students to focus on answering the question rather than searching their notes or searching the internet for answers. You may choose to set this limit either for all sections within an assessment section (including individual pages within it ), individual questions within these sections ( and even each question individually ). Please keep in mind that some students may need additional time due to accessibility needs – be sure to grant this.
One way to deter cheating during online exams is requiring students to view your academic integrity policy video and sign an academic integrity contract prior to taking their assessments. Doing this will remind them of the consequences associated with cheating, and encourage them to work diligently without cutting corners on assignments.
There are a few online tools that can be used to monitor student behavior during an online exam, including plagiarism detection software and live proctoring services; however, these cannot guarantee accurate monitoring as they may misidentify innocent behaviors as cheating attempts.
Taken together, these tips should help ensure that online courses and exams are fair for students taking them, with valid scores received by each. Cheating is often motivated by opportunity; most students will not engage in it if easy opportunities to cheat are removed, or there’s a strong risk they could be caught. If you have other tips to combat online exam cheating please share them in the comments below – thank you!
3. Use two- or three-factor authentication
Online exam cheating is an increasingly prevalent problem in higher education. Thankfully, there are methods available to prevent it. One key measure is making sure you know what students are viewing on their computers during an exam – especially since students often open multiple tabs or even switch browsers during an examination, using tools like web search engines or third-party applications like Quizlet or Chegg as means to cheat or even voice-to-text messaging to communicate among test-takers.
Two or three-factor authentication can help prevent cheating during online exams by having students use ID numbers, passwords or fingerprints to authenticate themselves before taking an exam. This prevents students from logging in using someone else’s credentials or looking at their phone during the exam. Another effective strategy to stop cheating would be for students to download an exam-specific program that restricts what can be seen on screen during testing – this allows the proctor to closely monitor your screen.
As there are apps that can detect when students attempt to cheat by monitoring their voice or movement, these tools can also help detect plagiarism and other forms of cheating – although these methods still aren’t foolproof and might prove difficult to implement in classroom environments.
Last, it is essential that students are clear about what constitutes cheating in your class. A clear academic integrity policy and including it in your course syllabus can assist with this endeavor by helping students understand which behaviors are acceptable and discouraging dishonest activities.
Cheating during online exams typically entails passing answers between students – this can be accomplished via email, Google Docs, or texting – while another popular tactic involves asking a high-achieving student to take their exam in their place. Students feel more at ease asking someone they trust with their grade as it allows them to feel less embarrassed asking a favor of someone they know will provide it in return.
4. Create a friendly environment
Technology has changed the ways students cheat. No longer do students just pass notes during tests; now they use Google Docs, text messaging and screen capture tools like Gobbledygook or Screen Capture Pro to exchange answers between classes; keywords can also be searched or third-party tools like Quizlet or Chegg are utilized to answer questions quickly online. Cheating has reached epidemic proportions in higher education; thus making this problem even worse.
Teachers can employ various strategies and tactics to combat online exam cheating, including restricting personal device usage during testing, listing an academic integrity policy in their course syllabus and making exams open book. Unfortunately, however, these measures cannot stop cheating from taking place entirely.
One effective strategy to combat online exam cheating is making the exam itself more challenging. This can be accomplished by randomizing questions and their order, making it harder for students to share answers simultaneously. Instructors can also design exams that focus more on critical thinking than mere memory or comprehension.
An additional way to make online exams more challenging is limiting the answers and options available, either by adding “no choice” options to questions or by asking students to write an essay-type response. This tactic may prove particularly helpful in higher level courses where deeper understanding of material is expected of their students.
One of the key strategies for combatting online exam cheating is educating students on your academic integrity policies through videos or learning management systems (LMS). Reminding students before an assessment takes place may have an immediate psychological effect and prevent those considering cheating from acting accordingly. Also, creating an environment of academic integrity within your classroom makes it harder for students to find excuses not to participate.