Ensuring Academic Integrity: The Evolution of Proctoring Solutions in the Digital Age

Conducting large-scale exams in India has been an arduous task given the sheer volume of test-takers, logistics, and the need to mobilise administrators, invigilators, and educators across. However, significant changes have occurred over the past three to four years. First, the Covid-19 pandemic hit. India faced significant challenges trying to conduct these exams, resulting in multiple postponements, rescheduling, and logistical nightmares trying to ensure a smooth exam process while ensuring safety. Despite these efforts, the process was fraught with challenges. It was estimated that around one to two percent of registered candidates could not appear for exams like JEE Main due to Covid-related issues – which translates to around 30,000 aspirants!

Recent concerns over cheating in NEET and other exams have further complicated the situation. Multiple incidents of cheating and malpractice, such as using electronic devices to cheat and acts of impersonation, have emerged, prompting questions from students, parents, and educational institutions on the credibility of the examination process and the effectiveness of traditional proctoring.

In response to these challenges, online exams with remote proctoring are emerging as a secure and reliable approach to ensuring fair and scalable assessments. This coupled with the meteoric rise of AI and its applications in such solutions makes a strong case for their widespread adoption. AI-powered remote proctoring can monitor a huge pool of exam-takers in real-time, detect suspicious behaviors, and ensure the integrity of the exam process. By 2025, the number of online exams is expected to increase significantly both in India and globally, driven by advancements in digital infrastructure and the growing demand for secure and scalable assessment solutions.

So how is remote proctoring useful?

Remote proctoring offers multiple benefits 

• It offers scalability of exams reducing dependence and logistics of managing human proctors and physical locations
• It is a sophisticated technology for enhanced security by continuously monitoring and analysing student behavior
• Real-time analysis and alerts, allowing proctors to intervene and deter malpractices proactively
• Reporting and analytics capabilities that offer insights for improved exam experience for learners and organisations or institutions

What role does AI play in all this?

With a break-neck speed of evolution, AI has emerged as a powerful enhancement to remote proctoring. AI can monitor students during exams, analysing audio, video, and screen-sharing feeds to detect suspicious behavior. The AI algorithms can identify patterns and flag anomalies, such as unusual movements, multiple faces in the frame, or unexpected sounds, providing a higher level of scrutiny than traditional methods.

In a notable case from India, AI-powered remote proctoring technology has played a crucial role in catching an impersonator during the JEE Main 2024. Another significant advantage of AI-powered proctoring is its scalability. Unlike in-person proctoring, which requires numerous human resources, AI systems can monitor large numbers of students at once.

It need not be one size fits all…

If you are looking to embrace online proctoring, then know this – remote proctoring is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Every examination is different and institutions and organisations conducting these examinations have unique constraints. Hence, there are several options, including live human proctoring, live human and AI proctoring, fully automated AI proctoring, and record and review proctoring. Each method addresses different institutional needs concerning cost, resources, network bandwidth, and the desired level of confidence in maintaining integrity.

For example, institutions conducting high-stakes exams for small groups can opt for live human proctoring to ensure maximum integrity and invest in dedicated proctor resources. While, for large-scale exams like university finals, live human proctoring augmented with AI can detect unusual behaviors and alert human proctors for further scrutiny. Professional license exams, such as those for accounting or legal certifications, can benefit from record and review proctoring, where sessions are recorded and reviewed by AI and humans thoroughly.

Conclusion

Many educational institutions and even some large-scale examinations in India have already adopted this and are seeing success. NTA has adopted AI-powered remote proctoring for various entrance exams, including the JEE, ensuring a secure and fair examination process. In September 2023, NTA also successfully conducted remotely proctored exams for the state coordinators recruitment exam for the social justice ministry.

With increasing digitisation and remote delivery of exams across the globe, remote proctoring is going to be crucial in ensuring the security and integrity of these exams. It will soon integrate into the global and Indian education landscape. The everyday advancements in AI and other technologies will enable these solutions to scale and be more authentic. Addressing privacy concerns effectively, data security, and bias by implementing robust data measures and ethical AI governance and policies can enable remote proctoring to play a vital role in upholding education standards and fostering a more inclusive and equitable educational environment.