Page 18 - ELG2404 April Issue 489

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The continuing need for human beings

he ongoing Home Office English
test scandal and the legal action
launched by innocent international
T students wrongly accused of
cheating – as widely reported in national and
overseas media in February this year – has
focused attention once again on the human
cost of acting on poorly verified evidence
of test taker deception. It is a perfect
illustration of what happens when academic
misconduct, including fraud, goes unnoticed
and is only discovered and investigated
retrospectively.
Unfortunately, however, organised
fraud, systematic cheating and differing
cultural attitudes to test taker behaviour
continue to create major problems for
universities each year when students who
have engaged in academic misconduct are
enrolled with insufficient language ability
to successfully pursue their studies. So,
in order to ensure accurate, reliable and
credible test results, academic misconduct
needs to be systematically detected and
dealt with. However, this needs to be
done in such a way as to ensure innocent
test takers are not unjustly penalised at
any point.
Whilst the Password Skills Plus test was
developed to deter, detect, and disqualify
test taker cheating, our approach to at-
home testing starts with the understanding
(gained from over 15 years of running
online English language tests) that most
test takers are honest. The vast majority
of test takers will be nervous at the start
of their test. Then, as they grow in, or lose
confidence their behaviour will change. By
the end of the test, their conduct in the test
environment may be significantly different to
their behaviour at the start of the test. This
means analysis of test taker behaviour plays a up. Our compliance team are trained to videos, using both humans and AI,
vital role in detecting academic misconduct notice any unusual behaviour that acts as the videos are passed to the Password
and, while Artificial Intelligence has its an alert. These findings are regularly shared compliance team who then review them
place detecting specific actions – such as with our proctoring partners, Meazure again. In addition, and as a separate process,
keystrokes and eye-tracking – our experience Learning – who, of course, also share their all test results are analysed, with attention
shows us that humans are still much better own new findings – and contribute to the being given to patterns we have come to
at holistically interpreting and evaluating constant updating of proctoring systems associate with cheating.
human behaviour and procedures. Our compliance and IT teams work
In order to deter, detect and disqualify together to ensure that test results only go
cheating when it does happen, we have 2. Surveillance during the test session into our validation portal – for universities
created a workflow divided into three stages Password Skills Plus tests are invigilated in to verify test certificates – when we are sure
which combine the strengths of both humans their entirety by humans (live proctoring). that they are accurate, reliable and credible.
and AI: Tests are video recorded from before the test If we are still unsure after all the above
starts – when the test taker is going through checks, we will instigate an online viva.
1. Investigation prior to the test session ID, environment and technical checks – to For disqualified test takers, there is of course
This would include passport and other the very end of the test when the test taker a robust appeals procedure which acts as a
identity document authentication, thorough closes the test down. Proctors will pause final safety net.
room scanning, and PC checks of both testing and remind test takers of the rules Our mission as a test provider is to ensure
software and hardware. Our IT team work if they spot suspicious behaviour and close that each and every test result is a true
tirelessly to identify, characterise and counter tests down entirely if they see academic reflection of the test taker’s ability on the
potential new methods of cheating using misconduct. day they were assessed so that Password
IT. For example, the use of virtual machines Skills Plus test results always meet the
to allow remote proxies to take the test 3. Analysis after the test session stringent requirements of high stakes
became popular in certain markets in 2023, After our Proctoring partner, Meazure university admissions whilst being fair
so new checks were devised to pick these Learning, have carefully reviewed test to test takers.
18 April 2024