Challenging Assumptions: Minimal Signs of Academic Dishonesty in Unproctored Online Examinations, Researchers Discover

A study shows that student performance in unproctored online examinations closely mirrors that of in-person, monitored tests, thereby suggesting a low incidence of effective cheating and reinforcing the credibility of online evaluation methods. Although there are reservations, the consistency in results across varied academic fields and educational stages has bolstered the case for the ongoing use of online examinations, while faculty members still employ measures to further discourage dishonest practices.

When Iowa State University switched to virtual learning in the middle of the spring semester in 2020, Jason Chan, a psychology professor, was apprehensive. Would unmonitored online tests result in widespread cheating?

Contrary to his initial concerns, the outcomes of the tests revealed that individual student performance was marginally higher yet aligned with their scores from in-person, proctored tests. There was a slight uptick in individual student scores, but the changes were consistent with earlier in-person, supervised test outcomes. Students who had received B grades before the pandemic-induced lockdown continued to achieve similar grades in the online, unproctored environment. This trend was consistent across the spectrum of student performance.

“The evidence suggests that there was either an absence of cheating or that such activities were insufficient to significantly alter student scores,” Chan states.

To understand the implications on a larger scale, Chan, along with Dahwi Ahn, a doctoral candidate in psychology, examined test scores from nearly 2,000 students enrolled in 18 different courses during the spring semester of 2020. The courses spanned from large, lecture-based classes like Introduction to Statistics, to specialized courses in fields such as engineering and veterinary medicine.

Across diverse academic disciplines, sizes of classes, levels of coursework, and types of exams (e.g., primarily multiple-choice or short-answer), the results were uniform. Unproctored online tests yielded scores that were strikingly similar to those of in-person, monitored tests, affirming their value as reliable instruments for student assessment.

The findings have been recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“Before undertaking this study, I harbored reservations about the efficacy and integrity of online, unproctored exams. However, the data has fortified my confidence, and I believe it will do the same for other educators,” Ahn comments.

Both researchers continue to administer exams online, even in the context of in-person classes, citing the flexibility it offers to students with part-time employment or those involved in sports and extracurricular activities. Ahn also conducted her first entirely online course during the summer.

Why was cheating apparently so ineffective in altering test scores?

The researchers hypothesize that students prone to cheating are often those who are already struggling academically and fearful of failing. These students may have neglected lectures, lagged in their studies, or found it challenging to seek assistance. Even with the possibility of online searches during an unproctored exam, a lack of understanding of the subject matter can hinder the identification of correct answers. In their paper, the researchers reference prior studies that compared open-book and closed-book exam scores.

Another deterrent against cheating could be the value that many students place on academic integrity and fairness, according to Chan. Students who have devoted time to study and take pride in their achievements may be less inclined to share their answers with those they perceive as trying to take shortcuts.

Nevertheless, the researchers caution instructors to be vigilant about potential vulnerabilities in online, unproctored test environments. For instance, certain platforms reveal the correct answer immediately after a multiple-choice question is answered, making it simpler for students to disseminate answers collectively.

To mitigate this and other cheating techniques, instructors are advised to:

1. Withhold exam answers until the examination period concludes.
2. Utilize extensive, randomized question banks.
3. Increase the number of options in multiple-choice questions and obscure the correct answer.
4. Modify grade thresholds.

Jason Chan and Dahwi Ahn acknowledge that the unique circumstances of the spring 2020 semester offered a singular opportunity to examine the effectiveness of online exams. They note limitations such as the unknown impact of stress and other pandemic-related factors on students, faculty, and teaching assistants. It’s also unclear whether the courses sampled normally become easier or harder as the semester advances. To account for these factors, they examined older test data from a subset of the 18 courses during fully in-person semesters and found the grade distribution to be consistent with that of the spring 2020 semester.

At the point when this study was conducted, ChatGPT was not available to students. Nonetheless, the researchers recognize that AI writing tools like ChatGPT could revolutionize education and create new challenges for evaluating student performance. Ahn intends to explore this issue in future research.

The study was underwritten by a grant from the National Science Foundation’s Science of Learning and Augmented Intelligence Program.

Reference: “Unsupervised Online Examinations as Effective Tools for Assessing Student Learning” by Jason C. K. Chan and Dahwi Ahn, published on 24 July 2023 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2302020120

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More about Unproctored online exams

• Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
• National Science Foundation’s Science of Learning and Augmented Intelligence Program
• Iowa State University Department of Psychology
• Research on Academic Integrity in Online Education
• Overview of Assessment Methods in Higher Education