Eleven solutions to deter cheating in a quiz, test or exam
By Joanna, FlexiQuiz.
5 minute read.
Cheating can be a way for students to gain an unfair advantage by breaking the rules during an exam.
Students may be completing important final examinations, annual tests or mock tests either remotely or in the classroom. Almost every exam situation is unique. As such, we provide a range of options that can help you create a custom secure online test.
We can't guarantee that we will stop cheating 100% of the time but by using some of these features on your tests, you will limit people being able to cheat during the exam.
This article shares our top eleven ways to minimize cheating on your tests.
1. Secure access to your quiz content
Controlling access to your FlexiQuiz content is a good way to protect your questions and maintain the integrity of your assessments.
You can restrict access to intended learners so they can view the quiz only during a set time window. Limiting access reduces the risk of questions being shared or researched in advance.
FlexiQuiz is a secure online quiz maker that provides a range of safeguard options for sharing your quizzes, giving you complete control over who can access them and when. You can limit availability by setting start and end dates, restricting the number of attempts, or defining how long the quiz remains accessible.
Here are some secure ways to share your exams or tests with FlexiQuiz.
Email invitations.
Invite test takers to complete your exam by sending a customized email directly from your FlexiQuiz account.
Each participant receives a unique, trackable link to access their exam, allowing you to monitor when they start and how much time they spend on each page.
Respondent portals.
Learners sign in to their personal portal using a unique username and password, giving them secure access to the quizzes you’ve assigned.
Access codes.
Provide each learner with a unique access code to join the quiz. This ensures individual, controlled access for every learner.
Restrict access to specific IP addresses.
Limit quiz access to specific IP addresses to ensure only users in approved locations can take the exam. You can share the quiz using a quiz link, qr code, email invitation, Respondent portal or access codes, but the students also need to be using the relevant IP address.
This option is ideal for in-person testing environments such as schools, training centers, or workplaces.
Passwords.
Share your quiz using a direct link and protect it with a registration page that requires a password. All learners use the same password to access the quiz.
Unlike access codes, which assign a unique code to each learner, password protection uses a single shared password for all participants.
2. Validate who is taking the test
Check who is taking your quiz by asking test takers to upload a picture, signature or a unique piece of information.
With FlexiQuiz, you can allow students to upload images and documents using the file upload question type.
If you ask test takers to confirm their identity on a separate quiz, you can check that the same person takes the test by matching their IP addresses. The IP information is available on your Analyze dashboard.
3. Share different versions of the same test
To deter students from looking at a classmate's screen or from chatting about exam content, we recommend sharing multiple versions of the same exam. It is harder to copy from someone's screen or discuss questions if they are slightly different.
FlexiQuiz has a couple of options:
Randomize the order of the questions.
Shuffle the order of some or all of the questions in your quiz. Test takers will all get the same questions, but in a different sequence.
Learn more about randomizing questions.
Pick a random set of questions from your question bank.
The question bank allows you to randomly select a set number of questions from a larger pool.
With FlexiQuiz, you store your questions in categories. Each category can contain similar question types and difficulty levels.
When building an exam, you can select how many questions you would like the FlexiQuiz system to pick from each category.
Learn more about the question bank.
4. Limit the number of times students can view the questions
If you minimize the number of times students can view your questions, it gives them less opportunity to look at the information, research it and complete the quiz later.
There are a few options:
- Maximum quiz attempts. Set a limit on how many times students can take your online exam.
- Prevent backtracking. You can configure the test to allow students to view one question at a time. When they submit their response, they move to the next question and cannot return to view or modify their answers.
- Only allow students to retake the quiz if they fail.
5. Include a free format question
Free format is an open-ended question that allows test takers to share workings, information and feedback. A free format question reflects the student's unique thinking and approach, which means every response should be slightly different. If several students are giving the same response, it can alert you to possible cheating.
With FlexiQuiz, you can add free format questions using the free text question type that allows students to type their text directly onto the FlexiQuiz system.
In addition, you can add a file upload question type where students can attach a file with their calculations and thinking.
6. Limit the time allowed for each question
Add time limits for the whole quiz or a page. The time limit should allow enough time for students to consider their responses but not too much time that students can research the answer.
With FlexiQuiz, you can set a time limit for the whole quiz, page or both.
Learn more about setting time limits on your examinations.
7. Prevent test takers from copying and sharing your questions
There are several ways that you can stop test takers from being able to copy and share your questions easily.
- Firstly, delay sharing the PDF of responses until everyone has submitted their test. With FlexiQuiz, you can customize the results page and email notifications to show relevant information at the right time.
- In addition, you can limit the ability of students to copy, cut or print the FlexiQuiz screen. You can configure these options on the Configure/General tab.
8. Remind students of any academic integrity policies
Creating academic integrity or codes of conduct guidelines can ensure your students know the policy and consequences for cheating.
Psychologically students may think twice about cheating if they've just had a reminder of the policy before the quiz starts.
With FlexiQuiz, you can add a policy to the welcome screen that's easy for students to view just before starting their examination. You can share the policy in writing or even by using a short video.
9. Let students know that you can identify cheating
As a web-based software solution, FlexiQuiz provides powerful reporting to help make it easier for you to identify anyone with suspicious behaviors. Reminding students that reporting is available might make them consider their actions.
Key reports include:
- Time spent per page.
- Common unusual responses.
10. Prevent the use of other browsers and sites
There are various solutions to lock the student's browser when they are taking a test. This stops test takers been able to open other windows to research or look up answers.
We recommend using Safe Exam Browser to share your FlexiQuiz tests and examinations. The application needs to be downloaded onto the device used by the test taker.
Learn more about sharing your FlexiQuiz exams with Safe Exam Browser.
11. Proctor the exam
Proctoring allows teachers or supervisors to watch students completing an exam.
There are several tools to help you proctor tests and exams online, such as monitoring the student's screen, watching them on video or tracking which buttons are pressed.
Currently, FlexiQuiz does not offer a built-in exam proctoring service.
However, you can ask students to share their FlexiQuiz screen using online applications such as:
We are continually looking at new and innovative ways to make online testing more secure. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for the latest developments.
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