Remote hiring is on the rise as more organisations realise the benefits of online talent acquisition. But, with the many advantages of remote recruiting comes the need to evaluate candidates reliably. That’s why using the right online proctoring settings is crucial.
As an employer, you’re undoubtedly searching for honest candidates with the right skill sets. But, if you’re leveraging online exams to vet applicants, filtering out dishonest candidates is vital to guarantee fair evaluation. You can’t afford to prioritise insincere applicants based on inflated test scores.
To help you out, we’ll take a look at some vital online proctoring settings for cheat-proofing your assessments. Depending on the type of assessment whether technical interview or screening, you may want to consider using some (or all) of these settings.
How do Proctored Exams Work?
Proctored exams are usually timed, and advanced online proctoring software monitors candidates’ browsers, webcam feed, and audio throughout the assessment.
The purpose of a proctored exam is to guarantee fair play by filtering out dishonest applicants. This makes the evaluation process fairer to sincere candidates and helps employers reliably determine the best performers.
9 Must-Have Online Exam Proctoring Settings
If you’re looking to guarantee fair evaluation, it’s important to leverage the right online proctoring settings for technical interviews. These settings reduce opportunities for malicious activities.
Here are 9 of the most crucial ones you might consider using
1. Fullscreen Violation Detection
Requiring test takers to stay in fullscreen mode prevents them from opening additional resources in new tabs which is a vital technique of cheating prevention.
2. Whole Screen Recording
By recording the candidate's entire screen, you will receive indisputable proof of any malpractice during the test.
3. Multi-Screen Detection
Of course, candidates/test takers can still use secondary devices to open resources, which is why you should also enable full-screen proctoring with multi-screen detection which will restrict the use of multiple displays and safeguard the test. In this sense, you can easily detect screen sharing in online exams with multi-screen detection monitoring.
4. Log Tab Change Activities
During the test, candidates might be tempted to switch tabs. By logging tab change activities, you will be able to see the frequency of tab changes and flag the test if a limit is crossed.
Exam conductors typically prevent fullscreen violations by leveraging lockdown browsers, which automatically operate in fullscreen and prevent candidates from opening multiple tabs. Lockdown browsers also restrict keyboard functions and close running tabs upon test commencement.
Employers don’t necessarily need to use lockdown browsers to detect fullscreen violations, though. For example, advanced tech recruitment softwares like We Create Problems (WeCP) have native IDEs with in-built proctoring settings to detect violations.
5. AI Video Proctoring
Video proctoring functionality uses AI to monitor applicants throughout the assessment from their webcam, checking for any suspicious activity. Some red flags include candidates’ using other devices, interacting with another party, or moving outside of the video frame.
During video interviews, if the applicants are flagged for suspicious activity, the AI will flag the event, so recruiters can investigate the matter later. You can also benefit from assigning violation settings for added security.
→ Read More: What are Video Assessments?
In WeCP's video proctoring feature, all session recordings utilise Whole Screen Recording, which can be enabled from the proctoring settings. This method offers a more accurate and high-quality recording of the entire assessment session.
Video proctoring is also used to verify each applicant’s identity; candidates may be asked to take a picture using the software before proceeding. This functionality is especially useful for bulk testing because recruiters don’t have to manually verify each test taker.
6. Audio Proctoring
Audio proctoring is a feature designed to enhance the integrity of online assessments by monitoring the sound environment during a test. This feature detects audio signals that could indicate potential violations, ensuring that the assessments are conducted in a secure environment.
Advanced audio proctoring features that We use at WeCP to monitor our tests include:
- Detecting human conversations when there are multiple voices or extended speaking to flag instances of collaboration or cheating.
- Detecting human murmuring (not whispering), which is typically quieter and less distinct than regular conversation to catch subtle attempts at communication that might otherwise go unnoticed.
- Understanding the difference between human speech and environmental background noise (such as typing, traffic) to prevent false positives.
Read more about WeCP online proctoring features and services that you can use to ensure honesty and fair assessments to perfectly analyse skill gaps.
7. Disabling External Copy/Paste
The purpose of this setting is quite straightforward – it prevents applicants from copying answers off the internet. But, beyond this, it also reduces the chances of candidates unfairly collaborating during the test. Otherwise, if copy/paste is enabled, applicants can share answers during the exam, giving them an unfair advantage over sincere applicants.
8. Email Watermarking
Enabling email watermarking will prevent candidates from sharing or leaking questions on the internet as it marks the test window with the candidate’s email address and uniquely identifies them.
9. Permissible Violations Settings
Permissible violation settings give employers more control over the proctoring process. Instead of simply monitoring applicants with an online test cheating prevention software, you can outline conditions for terminating the assessment.
For example, you might consider setting a condition for suspicious activity violations. In this case, applicants will have their test terminated if they are flagged a certain number of times (e.g. three times). Additionally, candidates will receive a warning about each violation.
Since video proctoring monitors suspicious activity and not definite malicious intent, it’s important to keep the violation settings flexible. So, it’s better to give candidates three violation chances, rather than cancelling the test after the first offence.
Bonus Tips: Smart Online Cheat-Proofing and Prevention
Online exam proctoring during the interview process encourages fair play by reducing the likelihood of cheating during the exam. But, beyond online proctoring, there are some additional cheat-proofing measures you might want to consider.
Read more: 15 Ways To Prevent Cheating in Online Exams
Question uniqueness - Implement open-ended or hands-on questions
Using unique questions helps employers evaluate candidates for their problem-solving skills and expertise. By asking questions that applicants are unfamiliar with, they have to showcase their skill set. Whether you’re conducting an MCQ-based assessment or a project-based test, it’s important to use unique questions for evaluating applicants. Otherwise, applicants might find the solutions online, increasing the chances of cheating.
Plagiarism and fraud detection
Plagiarism and fraud detection act as a second cheat-proof layer, making sure applicants’ answers are unique. It’s important to use plagiarism detection in conjunction with proctoring settings, like out-of-tab activity logging and disabling copy/paste. This way, if candidates contest the plagiarism flag or test cancellation, you can let them know the specifics.
Use randomised question order
By enabling the “shuffle questions” feature in your skill assessment, you further limit the opportunity for candidates to exchange answers. Setting a time limit to answer each question also contributes to the cause of online exam monitoring.
Educate students on the importance of academic integrity
WeCP has taken a proactive step in this direction by releasing a Code of Honour dialogue box, which is designed to emphasise the consequences of cheating. The Code of Honour serves as a pledge and a subtle warning about the serious implications of online exam malpractices. When candidates are answering a test on WeCP, they will be presented with the Code of Honour upon their first violation during the test. This timing is intended to engage candidates effectively, reinforcing the importance of integrity while maintaining the assessment process flow.
Hiring In Tech? Leverage WeCP's online cheat-proof testing platform
Tech roles are highly skill-based, which means employers need to acquire the best talent. You’re looking for applicants with strong problem-solving skills, creative thinking, potential, and sincerity in their work. To efficiently measure your applicants' hands-on skills, you need a good pre-employment testing software that can provide accurate results of what a person knows rather than making a hiring decision based on their experience.
Technical assessments are an ideal method of screening and filtering ideal candidates for a technical role. You can test and identify your applicants' strengths and weaknesses by curating questions that are catered to the specific job role and based on real-world scenarios. This ensures that you get a first-hand view of how one will perform on a day-to-day basis.
Conducting a technical assessment also requires you to create tests at scale, include business-aligned questions, ensure that candidates have hands-on projects and test results are cheat-proof. All these measures help you make an informed and unbiased hiring decision that will strengthen and boost your team’s productivity.
→ Read More: 20 Top Technical Skills Assessment Test Tools in 2024
So guaranteeing fair play is crucial. And here’s how WeCP can help you:
Merit-based testing strategy
WeCP (We Create Problems) is a leading tech recruitment solution that lets employers design custom skill assessment tests. You can test applicants for role-specific key skills, including programming knowledge, familiarity with different frameworks, and more.
WeCP’s testing strategy focuses on merit-based talent acquisition, guaranteeing a fairer evaluation process.
Online exam proctoring
WeCP’s native testing environment comes with essential online exam proctoring settings to ensure fair testing. You can toggle the proctoring settings on or off depending on your needs.
Employers can enable permissible violation settings, force full-screen browser, disable external copy/paste, leverage AI video proctoring, and log out-of-tab activities. If you’re looking for ways to beat the system or how to cheat on a proctored exam, we suggest you don’t try.
Practical Applications of Proctoring Solutions
Proctoring and monitoring online assessments is necessary when:
Hiring New Employees to the Team
As a recruiter, you want competent and dedicated people to fill the role so that their performance can have a positive impact on achieving company objectives and goals. By deriving accurate results from skill tests, you will be able to identify the best talent for your teams.
Employee Assessment
Post training your workforce, you need to assess if they have actually comprehended the learning material and measure the success of your training initiatives to view your ROI. You can effectively do this by implementing advanced skill assessments that grab individual skill analysis with valuable monitoring techniques.
Making sure all employees are up to date with company procedures, product knowledge, etc., requires extensive testing. Online assessments facilitate and speed up learning processes, making them incredibly cost-effective. You can implement smart proctoring methods to uphold the integrity of the remote tests.
Certification
Online assessments play a crucial role in remote certification processes. With certifications, it is easier to gauge how versed a candidate or employee is in a particular topic. Certifications must be provided to honest candidates who have a detailed knowledge of the course and can accurately answer test questions without the scope of cheating. Check the time it took to complete the test and answer each question. For example, if there is a question that requires over a minute of mathematical computations yet it took 5 seconds to solve, the respondent must be either a genius or a cheater.
WeCP enables advanced proctoring measures that ensure recruiters and employers get accurate and real results from their candidates. Get in touch with us to know more!
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