Is it impossible to cheat in computer based examinations?

by Abbas Adil

“I have tomorrow’s question paper; want to buy it?” If you are a candidate giving a competitive exam, you need to be aware that touts cannot help you; they are out to cheat you!

For every competitive exam, there are a number of fraudsters who claim that they have access to the question paper. There could even be fake papers circulating on social media. In the case of computer-based testing, there are other technology based practices– imposters making promises to fake the biometrics, touts claiming to have hacked the server, companies advertising Bluetooth devices to help crack the paper, and so on.

Don’t be gullible; these are false promises. Today 99.999% of cheaters and miscreants end up at the police station with FIR filed against the candidate.

There have also been cases where a candidate sneaks a camera into the hall, and posts actual images of the question paper on social media and WhatsApp during the exam. However, these images actually help identify precisely which console has been used and hence which candidate has attempted the fraud. Every single one of these attempts have led to police cases, ending with the candidate getting barred for life.

Tests taken in paper-pencil mode are far more vulnerable to leakage and malpractices. Computer-based testing, on the other hand, has rapidly evolved over the last few years to prevent fraud. Here’s a peak behind the scenes to show how computer-based tests are helping to catch fraudsters and prevent cheating.

In a computer-based test, the question paper is not printed on paper at all. Experts create a bank of questions and then the question paper is assembled by a software algorithm that selects appropriate questions based on a Question Paper blueprint. No single individual has access to all the questions and answers, and the chances of leakage goes down dramatically.

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