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Online exams are user-friendly and convenient but are easy to manipulate by cheating and getting the desired result. Here, we’ll discuss the ways to cheat on an online exam and effective steps to prevent and counter these cheating methods.
Cheating in exams is a concern for educational institutions. Whether it is students, trainees, or employees, anyone can cheat to achieve a better rank. While it is hard enough to catch cheaters when supervising them in the exam rooms, things have gotten worse with online exams. Malpractices are easy to carry out when the person is located remotely. The biggest question many establishments ask is how to stop students from cheating on online exams?
So how should you use technology for conducting online exams and preventing the participants from cheating? Let’s find out the ways to cheat on an online exam and prevent them.
9 Ways to Cheat on Online Exams and How to Prevent Them
Some people find cheating easier than studying for the exam, even if it needs an elaborate setup and is more risky. Writing on hands or clothes, hiding tiny slips of text, etc., have been standard cheating methods for decades. Technological advancements, such as Bluetooth earbuds, smartphones, software, etc., are helping cheaters ace exams. This led to many institutions identifying methods to cheat like a pro in online exams and finding ways to counter these effectively. Here, we will list some important ways people cheat in exams and how you can prevent them.
1. Using Mobile Devices
Cheating in exams by using a smartphone or tablet is not uncommon. Participants don’t even need to operate the phone. They can use voice activation to ask the question, Google the answer, and write it. They can pop tiny wireless earbuds, which cannot be detected through the front camera. In fact, eyeglasses and rings also come with microphones and are connected to smartphones and earbuds for recording audio or providing information. Such practices can be almost impossible to detect during an online exam. This is likely how they cheat without getting caught. Nevertheless, you can prevent such malpractices by investing in online proctoring tools that set up multiple cameras to detect every movement and audio as the student takes the exam.
2. Cheatsheets
The term cheat sheet comes from the (un)popular practice of carrying tiny slips of paper to the exam hall and copying from it. This is easier for online exams as they can place the slips outside the camera’s angle.
One way to control this is to use 360-degree cameras that record the entire space around the participant. Another way is to change the questions and ask for an in-depth analysis that forces students to think and use their knowledge to answer the questions.
3. Bathroom or Water Breaks
Another common cheating method in a traditional exam setup is to go out for a break and find a way to get answers to the questions. Fortunately, this is mostly not possible for online exams. Even the 3-hour exams don’t have breaks. The participant is supposed to be in their seat from start to finish. But how will you know they didn’t hop out for a quick break by tinkering with the camera? That’s where motion detection and live feed monitoring help.
4. Leaking the Question Paper
Question paper leakage is a costly way to cheat in an exam. The recent fiasco around NEET exams showed that even online tests can be leaked. It is sad when teachers and principals are involved but the authorities should find ways to prevent such incidents from happening again.
Setting up built-in trackers and automated alerts when anybody accesses the files can minimize the risk of leaked question papers. The logins of those with approved access should also be tracked and monitored.
5. Software and Screen Sharing
Third-party software, copy-pasting from other tabs, and screen sharing are some advanced ways to cheat in an online exam. You should use similar technologies to counter and prevent these practices.
For example, the test interface should disable copying the questions or pasting the answers. The test should be conducted only in full-screen mode. Tab activities have to be logged out, which prevents participants from opening another tab on the browser or moving to another window. Use software for multi-screen detection and audio proctoring.
6. Impersonation
Impersonation during online exams became a concern for institutions during the Covid-19 pandemic. Quite a few candidates were caught cheating this way to get hired.
Remote proctoring, artificial intelligence-based facial detection, ID verification, etc., are necessary to prevent participants from asking others to impersonate during exams. IP-based security also prevents impersonation where the exam link is accessed by the impersonator on their device.
7. Same Answer in MCQs
How to cheat on multiple-choice tests? Is C the likely answer to get more marks? Should they mark all options on the OMR sheets to hit the perfect score? Depending on the competitive exams, students get tips to mark a specific alphabet when they don’t know the answer.
Such practices can be thawed by randomizing the questions. For example, PrepAI is the best online quiz maker for teachers that automatically converts input data to different types of questions. Once the multiple-choice questions are generated, you can move them around to break the pattern in the answers. Most of the time, the tool will automatically randomize the questions.
Additionally, provide four options for the MCQs as it reduces the chances of getting it right to only 25%. That’s why many exams these days don’t include true or false questions which have a 50-50 chance.
8. Keyloggers and Virtual Machines
These are two more ways to cheat in exams using technology. Keyloggers are used to capture the keystrokes which enable the participants to know the answers provided by the previous candidates. This happens when the same computer is used to test more than one person.
Virtual machines are remote computers that can be accessed from different devices. The candidate can set up a virtual machine to find answers to the questions to avoid being caught during online exams.
Both practices can be prevented by using relevant tools to detect the presence of keyloggers or virtual machines on the computer used for the test.
9. Malware Attack
Participants may use malware as one of the ways to cheat on an online exam. By releasing malware into the test platform, they can gain unauthorized access to the test papers and get the questions in advance.
The institutions conducting tests should invest in advanced AI-based antivirus and anti-malware software to prevent such attacks. Creating awareness about phishing attacks is also necessary.
Unusual Behavior During Online Exams
It doesn’t matter if students have found the best way to cheat on an exam. You can still suspect their actions and motives by being alert to unusual behaviors, especially during online exams. This requires proctoring devices like a camera and a microphone.
Here are a few red flags to consider:
- Staring repeatedly in one or two directions
- Frequent breaks for bathroom or rest
- Looking around the room often
- Looking down into their lap or a side (possibly using a smartphone)
- Spending too much time on a single question
- Sudden change in facial expressions
- Random voices being caught by the microphone
However, it is crucial to realize that such unusual behavior doesn’t automatically imply cheating in online exams. For example, some students mutter to themselves as it helps recollect answers easily if they read the question aloud. Some can be naturally fidgety or stressed, making it impossible to sit still for more than a few minutes.
If you notice strange behavior, the best thing would be to closely monitor the student to identify if it is a personality trait or a sign of cheating before taking action. This will prevent wrongly accusing someone of cheating in an exam.
How are Online Exams Monitored?
Online exams need to be monitored to prevent unethical practices like cheating. The process is called online proctoring, where various methods are used to minimize the risk of cheating in exams. Some test platforms offer built-in online proctoring features, while others can be integrated with third-party apps. A few more ways to prevent online test cheating are as follows:
Dual-cam monitoring (second cam with a 360-degree view)
In this method, a second camera (AI-powered) with a 360-degree view is used to survey the room where the participant is answering the online exam. This camera has features like motion detection, audio detection, etc., to detect unauthorized entry or malpractices during the exam.
Liveness detection
Liveness detection is where AI algorithms are used to determine if the live feed streamed from the participants’ devices is indeed taking place in real-time. One example is to use facial recognition tools that constantly monitor the participant to check for blinking, breathing, head movements, lip movement, etc.
Fake feed detection
This is similar to the previous online proctoring method but analyzes the video shared by the test responder to check if it is authentic or has been substituted with a fake/ different video. Web monitoring and other similar techniques are used for this.
Audio analytics
Audio analytics is one of the online proctoring methods where the audio samples of the participants are compared and analyzed to check if they match. It can also be used to catch other voices in the room (someone reading out the answers to the participant, etc.)
Facial detection and recognition
Facial detection and recognition, biometric ID verification, etc., are used to confirm that the ID and the person taking the test are a match. This can be a concern in online exams as the quality of webcams can make images blurry. However, AI-powered facial recognition tools are quite accurate and can be used for online proctoring.
Auto Authorization
In this method, the online monitoring for exams is automated whenever the test portals are accessed. There’s no need to manually set up proctoring for every exam. It can also be activated remotely.
Desktop sharing
Desktop sharing or screen-sharing apps can be used to ensure the participants don’t search for answers on the side. While it cannot prevent them from using other devices, it will stop the participants from opening more browsers on the same computer to access and copy the answer.
Lockdown mode
Lockdown mode is a feature that locks the test portal’s screen and is the only one the responders can use for the duration of the exam. They cannot minimize the interface, switch to other browsers, applications, etc., or connect to other monitors to search for answers.
Other Tips to Prevent Cheating in Exams
No matter what ways students find out about how to cheat on an online test, you can come up with preventive measures to reduce their cheating practices/ attempts. While we read about tech-based solutions to prevent cheating in online exams, here are other ways to try.
Choosing the Right Assessment Method
Multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions are low-stakes questions that give more opportunities for students to cheat in online exams. It doesn’t mean you don’t use these questions. It means you use them as required.
Mixing Objective and Subjective Questions
Objective questions are easy to answer using guesswork, copying, or cheating. Subjective answers require more details and critical thinking, especially if you use HOTS (higher-order thinking skills) questions generated by AI question generator tools like PrepAI. Mixing up both types can reduce cheating attempts.
Limit Feedback Displayed on the Screen
What feedback do you show on the screen after the test ends? If they can repeat the test or discuss the results with others, the feedback shown can be used to cheat in the exam. The student may attempt a different answer to those questions or use trial and error to get a higher score.
Show One Question at a Time
One of the ways to cheat on exams is to show the screen or share it with others. If the test screen has more than one question at a time, it becomes easier to get help with answering the remaining questions. Limit one question per time on the screen. The question changes when the student answers it.
Strict Time-Bound Online Tests
Many tests have strict time limits to reduce cheating. When the clock is ticking, the students cannot wait long to find out the answer. They can search for answers in a book or using other devices rather than wasting time.
Support Online Exams with Assignments
Despite everything, some students may get away with cheating in online exams. To create a level-playing field, you can use assignments, presentations, discussions, etc., to measure their skills and knowledge. The grades from the exams and assignments can be combined to rank the students’ performance.
Some Reasons Why Students Cheat in Online Exams
We’ve looked at some of the common online exam cheating methods as well as the ways to prevent such incidents from occurring. However, understanding the root cause of the problem can help more. Why do students cheat? What makes them take risks at the cost of their future?
Typically, there are various psychological and social reasons for cheating in exams, such as the following:
Peer Pressure
Sometimes, the most unexpected students get caught cheating. This could be due to peer pressure or bullying, where they were forced to resort to such measures by their fellow students. Also, some students think engaging in group cheating activities is a lesser crime than cheating in an exam on their own.
Lack of Larger Perspective
It’s not uncommon for students to ignore the bigger consequences of their actions. They are likely to think they can get away with cheating on online exams or by convincing the exam conductor of their innocence. They don’t realize it could destroy their entire future until it actually happens.
Self-Justification
Students cheat in online exams when the opportunity arises or if they are desperate. They may justify the act, thinking it was only once or that they didn’t normally cheat, so this could be excused. Or, they could approve of it with some reason and convince themselves that what they did wasn’t wrong.
Rebellious Attitude
Sometimes, student rebel as an act of asserting control over their lives. They think they know all about how to cheat on an online exam, or don’t care about the consequences of their actions. This makes them act in defiance and deliberately break the rules.
Performance Anxiety
Some students can be so anxious about getting a high grade or achieving a win that they don’t consider the consequences of their actions. Or, the student may cheat in an online exam to at least pass the test and get a decent enough grade.
Other Situations
Financial constraints, inability to handle the demands of a student life, disinterest in education, family and parental pressure to do well, etc., are some other reasons that can make a student cheat in an exam. Moreover, the guidelines for what constitutes cheating can be different in different institutions. What was previously acceptable may not be allowed, and the student may not be aware of this.
Conclusion
When you conduct online exams, make sure to create a comprehensive plan to prevent cheating by the candidates. For this, you should start by knowing how to cheat on a test. List all the possible methods and find foolproof means to prevent these. AI-based anti-cheating tools, Plagiarism detection tools, cameras, microphones, ID verification, etc., are some ways to minimize cheating in online exams. Use Bloom’s Taxonomy-based test generator platforms to create questions that require participants to use their knowledge and abilities. Furthermore, create a code of conduct that is signed by the candidates, which allows you to take legal action if they are caught.
FAQs
1. How to cheat in an online exam?
There are various ways to cheat in an online exam. You can search for the answers from another browser or device, share screen with a friend to help you, read out the questions to someone who can supply the answers from the side, let another person take the test on your behalf, and so on. However, all these cheating methods come with risks and can result in getting caught.
2. How to prevent cheating in an online quiz?
You can prevent cheating in online quizzes by locking down the browsers to prevent participants from searching for answers. Use proctoring software and tools like a 360-degree camera with microphones for motion detection and catching other voices. A combination of anti-cheating methods should be employed to get better results.
3. Do online tests have a higher rate of cheating?
Statistics show that students cheat more in online exams than in physical classroom tests. This is due to the ease of online tests, where participants can attend them from home. They provide more opportunities with a lesser risk of being caught, which can create an urge in students to score higher marks by taking an easy way out.
4. How can you know if a student is cheating in an online exam?
Proctoring software is used to monitor the students in real time. Observe their body language carefully. See if they are looking in a specific direction repeatedly or if they seem to be talking often. Did they spend too much time on a question? Are they taking frequent breaks from the room? Are they using phones often? These are some strong signs of cheating in online exams.
5. Why is cheating bad for students’ careers?
Students may think that the various ways to cheat on exams can help them score higher marks. However, they will lose a lot more if they get caught in the process. It could prevent them from completing the course or receiving the certificate. They could be blacklisted from attending more courses by the institution and elsewhere. This bad name could ruin their reputation in the long run.
