English language testing technology has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years, with advancements in technology ensuring ever more reliable results. In this post, we\u2019re exploring how a hybrid approach with strong anti-cheating measures are helping to reassure universities that they can trust a student\u2019s score.<\/p>
Whether it\u2019s an online or in-person test, security is vital to stopping the sometimes extraordinary lengths to which some candidates are prepared to go to secure a place at an overseas university. A secure and valid English language test helps you ensure you\u2019re investing in someone whose language skills are up to the demands of a place on your course.<\/p>
While in-person test centres are by no means immune from cheating, it\u2019s natural to worry that online tests are particularly at risk thanks to the perceived lack of security measures and absence of human invigilation. However, online tests offer a number of advantages over those conducted in person, in particular that they\u2019re cheaper and more accessible to students from poorer backgrounds and remote areas.<\/p>
Hybrid tests offer the best of both worlds. They\u2019re online tests that can be taken on a laptop anywhere, so they\u2019re still affordable and accessible. The difference is that by incorporating a raft of hybrid security measures \u2013 including human invigilation and cheating checks \u2013 they offer universities the assurance that the test has been taken fairly and accurately.<\/p>
Let\u2019s take a look at the robust anti-cheating measures you can take to ensure a secure and reliable assessment of a candidate\u2019s English proficiency.<\/p>
The hybrid approach can be taken throughout the test with human invigilation and written test marking, but it comes to the fore in the speaking part, when the candidate is connected with a fully trained, fully qualified examiner via a video link. During this final section of the test, the examiner can use an in-depth Q&A session to analyse and compare how the candidate has performed in the previous three sections with their spoken English, as well as reconfirming their ID.<\/p>
When the candidate first signs up for the test, you can ask them to upload a photo of themselves with their passport. This gives the examiner an image they can compare with the live version to verify their identity throughout their test, minimising the risk of impersonation. On passing security and ID checks, the student can be given a unique ID number that allows both student and university to monitor their progress and performance.<\/p>
Before the online test begins, the candidate can be asked to scan their room to show the examiner they\u2019re alone and taking the test in the right conditions. Once the test gets underway, an AI proctoring and anti-fraud system can scan the candidate\u2019s actions, automatically flagging potential inappropriate behaviour with a warning and timestamp that can then be assessed by the examiner.<\/p>
Systems like these identify telltale actions such as another person coming into the camera view, background noise that isn\u2019t the candidate, attempting to load another screen or the use of third-party applications. As well as monitoring the student\u2019s screen activity throughout the test, they also take intermittent screenshots to confirm their identity against their photo ID.<\/p>
If a breach of behaviour is confirmed, the candidate\u2019s test and results can be cancelled immediately.<\/p>
Tests can randomly allocate materials from a variety of academic resources, meaning no two complete tests are the same. This makes it difficult for someone to pass information on to another candidate. What\u2019s more, plagiarism detection mechanisms rigorously scan and assess written responses to ensure they\u2019re authentic and original.<\/p>
Finally, the candidate\u2019s results can be checked over by another examiner or member of academic staff before they\u2019re released, giving both student and university the peace of mind that the score is accurate and that the student\u2019s ID matches images captured before and during the test.<\/p>
Scored using AI and other advanced testing technology, our online English proficiency test, the Oxford English Language Level Test<\/a> (Oxford ELLT), is a secure English language test that can be taken on a laptop anywhere, so it\u2019s still affordable and accessible. But with its unique combination of advanced AI technology and human invigilation, it delivers unbeatable accuracy and integrity in assessing students\u2019 reading, listening, writing and speaking skills. If you\u2019d like to explore this reliable and trustworthy English proficiency testing solution, get in touch<\/a> to find out more.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" English language testing technology has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years, with advancements in technology ensuring ever more reliable results. In this post, we\u2019re exploring how a hybrid approach with strong anti-cheating measures are helping to reassure universities that they can trust a student\u2019s score.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":74447,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[485,488,486,489,179,171,175,487,165,170],"class_list":["post-74446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-testing","tag-ai-proctoring","tag-anti-cheating","tag-anti-fraud","tag-english-level","tag-english-proficiency","tag-english-test","tag-higher-education","tag-id-verification","tag-oxford-ellt","tag-security"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oidigitalinstitute.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oidigitalinstitute.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oidigitalinstitute.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oidigitalinstitute.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oidigitalinstitute.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74446"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/oidigitalinstitute.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74557,"href":"https:\/\/oidigitalinstitute.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74446\/revisions\/74557"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oidigitalinstitute.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oidigitalinstitute.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oidigitalinstitute.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oidigitalinstitute.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}