Top 4 Myths about Remotely Proctored Exams

One of the main challenges of 2020 for teachers when it comes to education and proctoring has been the sudden mandatory shift to online platforms. Whether you work with K-12 or college students, there’s no denying that cheating is a possibility when remote proctoring is in play. According to The Washington Post, 93% of instructors think students are more likely to cheat online than in person, and given COVID-19, the issue persists.

This can be mitigated by using a reliable proctoring to ensure that your students have a secure platform to work with. However, there is still a wide range of myths students rely on when it comes to remote proctoring to defend their position during examination. Let’s take a look at some of the top myths about remotely proctored exams and subsequently debunk them to help you assess students more effectively.

1. Remotely Proctored Exams Invade Students’ Privacy

As a teacher, your duty is to observe your student group during remote proctoring. Many students feel like this is an invasion of their personal space and would rather not use remote proctoring tools at all on their devices. 

One of the tools which saw a sudden rise in popularity during the early days of the pandemic was Zoom, which was subsequently labeled as malware. Outlets such as The Guardian were quick to report that this platform is a “privacy disaster” and should be avoided for remote proctoring. However, this invasion of privacy could easily have been avoided by simply using online tools designed for student examination in mind.

Solution: Use only professional, certified remote proctoring platforms for your student exams.

2. They Don’t Allow Students to Fully Demonstrate their Knowledge

Students tend to exhibit different character traits and personality quirks, just like everyone else. Some will be inherently extroverted and have no problems with speaking to teachers via remote proctoring platforms. Others, however, might require a more delicate approach to ensure their comfort and give them a fair chance at passing. 

Nancy Howard who works at Supreme Dissertations writing service says: “Remote proctoring tools are “tools” – it’s up to teachers to use them in smart and creative ways to remotely proctor their students. As such, different students should be allowed to take their exams in various ways, such as through oral examination, college essays, or remotely-monitored quizzes.”

Solution: Adapt your examination style and format to the students you work with – no two students are alike.

3. False Flags can lead to Poor Exam Performance or Failure

Many remote proctoring platforms rely on AI to alleviate the workload of teachers by spotting cheaters during exams. This can backfire in an instant and cause problems for both students and schools involved in the incident. 

According to a report by NBC News, such an event took place in November of 2020 when a law school graduate took a remote exam. She was falsely flagged as a cheater by an AI for reading the question aloud to herself as a means to understand it correctly. These types of problems are unacceptable as many students are already anxious and fearful of remote exams as is.

Solution: Adopt a remote proctoring platform which will enable you to manually monitor your student groups.

4. Remote Proctoring Platforms Require High-End Devices and Bandwidth

A common misconception related to remote proctoring platforms is that they are taxing on the students’ devices and internet connection. The problem appears when students simply don’t have access to a computer device of their own or the privacy to use one whenever they want. 

This is especially true with K-12 students who are inherently young and require adult assistance when handling digital devices. However, most of these tools are entirely cloud-based and rely on internet browsers to connect students with their teachers for examination purposes.

Solution: Choose a remote platform which is lightweight and cloud-based so that the majority of students can use it.

Why Are Remotely Proctored Exams Beneficial for Your Students?

To cap off, let’s discuss the practical benefits of remote proctoring and what the future holds for the technology. According to UNESCO, 56.6% of students worldwide are heavily affected by COVID-19, with 130 countries facing nation-wide school closures to prevent the spread of the pandemic. While remote proctoring technology has been in development for years, 2020 has given it the wind it needed to push to the forefront.

Professional proctoring platforms are bound to continue their active development and allow for even more flexible and feature-rich proctoring going forward. As such, some of the most intriguing and noteworthy benefits of you using remote proctoring tools now that we’ve debunked their most popular myths include:

• Enable students to learn modern study tools and work habits for tomorrow
• Abide by current social distancing norms and keep your students’ safe
• Ability to examine students from the comfort of your and their home
• Better organizational capabilities due to remote proctoring tool features
• Choose the type of examination you will conduct per individual student
• Increased privacy of personal data due to the platform’s security

Remote Proctoring as a New Norm

When all is said and done, the myths surrounding remote proctoring platforms are unfounded and based on fictional representations of such tools. There’s no denying that using the wrong tools to examine your students will undoubtedly lead to security concerns and privacy issues for everyone. 

However, relying on remote proctoring tools with reliable testimonials from academic professionals should be a priority. Choosing such a platform for your students will not only make the examination process easier but also help debunk popular myths in their eyes quickly. Remote proctoring is slowly becoming a new norm in academia – embrace it today and reap its benefits as early as tomorrow.

Bio: Donald Fomby is a professional content writer, editor, and educational advisor working with Trust My Paper writing service at a full-time capacity. Donald built his career by writing and editing articles, research papers, and essays in a variety of fields, including business development, education, and digital marketing. In his spare time, Donald is a husband and a father, while he also enjoys reading and spending time outdoors.