Standards of Excellence for Live Proctoring

Last year presented challenges for many institutions and testing organisations that turned to online proctoring to ensure business continuity and fulfil the needs of students and test-takers.

When it comes to exam integrity, ProctorExam recognizes that every exam comes with a unique set of considerations. That is why we provide our partners with their choice of two proctoring services that best meet their needs — Record and Review and Live Proctoring.

Record and Review has proven to be a flexible solution for ProctorExam’s partners. This solution allows exam organisers to review exam-session recordings — anytime and at their own pace — to preserve exam integrity.

Below, ProctorExam’s Service Delivery Manager, Samy Benameur introduces Live Proctoring and shares his vision for its use now and in the future.

In early 2021, ProctorExam launched Live Proctoring as a new addition to its online proctoring services. With Live Proctoring, ProctorExam’s monitoring services are conducted in real time, and test-takers are connected to a live proctor for the duration of exam.

Live Proctoring exams are modelled after traditional, on-site exams supervised by invigilators. An on-demand proctor is available throughout the online session to convey any specific exam instructions set forth by the institution. Proctors are trained to provide individualised support to test-takers and notify them of any behaviors that put exam security at risk. Because high-stakes exams determine candidates’ competency and qualification to pursue various academic and professional roles, it is crucial to identify and prevent any risks to exam security.

In the event that a proctor flags an exam session for unusual behavior, the exam organizer is always responsible for conducting a final review and deciding whether to disqualify a candidate.

Monitoring candidates in real time with Live Proctoring may decrease the motivation to cheat during online exams. With a live invigilator available and ready to communicate, candidates may be less likely to engage in misconduct. Live Proctoring replicates the secure environment of traditional, in-person exams, thus encouraging candidates to conduct themselves as they would in a testing venue or classroom supervised by invigilators or faculty. 

Live Proctoring provides a constant communication channel between test-takers and proctors, for the entire online exam. This allows proctors to intervene as necessary and mitigate stress for test-takers, as well. Unusual behavior from candidates may indicate a misunderstanding of the test rules and proctors can support these candidates by explaining what it is expected of them.

By providing real-time guidance for a successful exam session, proctors can help to reduce doubtful incidents. Among ProctorExam clients who use Live Proctoring, the percentage of exam sessions with doubtful incidents decreased from 15% to 2% by the end of 2021.

At ProctorExam, the proctors who supervise Live Proctoring sessions have prior experience with Record and Review. They are qualified to start proctoring in real-time only after they have undergone extensive training with recorded exam sessions. Additionally, live proctors are trained to develop problem-solving skills and demonstrate empathy for test-takers with different learning styles. Our goal is to be 99.9% objective in our efforts to preserve the security of online exams, but also considerate of the stress that candidates may be experiencing.

Communicating instructions set forth by organisations and institutions with various exam requirements is another standard we strive to meet. For example, using pen and paper is allowed for some exam stakeholders, while others do not allow these items. ProctorExam proctors know when they should or should not intervene to remind the candidate of a possible breach. Finally, it is a top priority at ProctorExam that the live proctors show discretion and abide by the company’s data encryption and security policy.

Live Proctoring is an effective proctoring solution for nearly any type of exam, including entrance exams, government employment, pre-employment, corporate and language certification exams.

With the growing popularity of hybrid education, education institutions and testing organisations are continuing to administer live proctored exams to secure digital assessments. Live Proctoring with ProctorExam is a great first step towards digital transformation while preserving aspects of the traditional exam process, including invigilation from trained proctors and a real-time communication channel.

For organisations that value flexibility in the exam process, Record and Review continues to be a popular proctoring service. With this solution, exam organisers can deliver exams, anytime and anywhere, without the need to reserve live proctoring services.

With both Live Proctoring and Record and Review, exam sessions are recorded via webcam, screen capture, and optional mobile phone for later review, auditing, and quality assurance.