Kapiolani Community College has made significant changes to its testing policies for their Radiologic Technology Program because of a student grievance that uncovered highly technical cheating. A photographed image of a test was circulated via email to students enrolled in the program recently. The report did not indicate how or when the photo was taken. One student decided not to cheat. Unfortunately, her grade was impacted because of her honesty at which point she made the decision to file an academic grievance. As a result, the academic administration uncovered the cheating scandal.
The College has taken serious measures to curb cheating in this highly competitive program. Students can no longer bring belongings (including cell phones) into the classroom during testing and cannot review their exams after they have completed them. In addition, new tests were created to replace the existing tests that have been circulated via email. Unfortunately, there is no timeframe as to when the cheating occurred.
How Do Photos of Tests Get Circulated?
Most often, students are using cell phones to take photos of tests to share with friends. In 2012, Anson Alexander provided real statistics on cell phone use in cheating. 35% of teens admit to using a cell phone to cheat in school. 25% of students do not consider checking notes on a cell phone, searching the internet, or texting friends for answers during a test to be cheating. These statistics make it abundantly clear that students have a skewed understanding of the definition of cheating.
Schools are responding quickly by banning cell phones from a testing environment. Students are required to leave belongings in a separate room or placed in the back of the classroom during testing. But can schools be sure this is going far enough? Will students oblige or just find more subtle ways to sneak cell phones into the classroom?
How Does ProctorFree Stop Cell Phone Use?
ProctorFree’s on-demand, automated system monitors for cell phone (or other outside devices) use in various ways through our proprietary algorithm system. Professors and administrators can be assured that students are not using any outside device during testing. If an outside device is detected, students are immediately warned to stop its use and faculty are alerted to the anomaly. A video recording can be reviewed for confirmation once the test is complete.