Cheating is one vice that permeates every facet of human existence and it is fuelled by the desire to gain advantage. At the heart of cheating is dishonesty. It takes strong moral persuasion not to cheat especially if there is a perception that there are no consequences or the rewards are very attractive.
One area where there is a high incentive for cheating is high-stakes examinations, due to the direct consequences of passing or failing. In most cases, the outcomes of exams determine the future of an individual, which explains why many approach them with a do or die attitude.
What used to be isolated cases of individual candidates engaging in cheating has now become syndicated. Aided by technology advancements and encouraged by a corrupt society; parents, teachers, invigilators, and law enforcement agencies. The situation is ugly – syndicates openly merchandise answers to exam questions on the internet and deliver them to candidates in real time for a token fee. In what is indicative of the frustration of exam bodies, the West African Examination Council (WAEC) recently labelled those involved in exam malpractice as terrorists.
Migration from paper-based to computer-based testing (CBT) is now considered to be the solution. Although CBT has some security and logistic benefits, it is impractical for all exams. School-leaving qualification and achievement exams are still paper-based globally and this is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future for obvious reasons.
In extreme measures to prevent cheating, some governments have resorted to nation-wide internet shutdown during exam periods. This comes at huge economic and human rights violation costs; so, business and human rights groups are fighting against it. To say the problem has not defied all existing solutions is to live in denial. From Africa to Asia, there is a loud consensus that this transnational problem requires urgent solution.
Due to the threat exam malpractice posses on the resourcefulness, ingenuity and socio-economic development of Africa, Innotelligent has developed the world’s first solution to organised and mass malpractice in paper-based exams. We have moved paper-based exams from the traditional fixed-forms delivery model where the same set of questions is given to all candidates, to algorithmic assembly models where unique sets of questions and personalised exam papers are produced for every individual candidate. This stochastic question assembly model, which has been a distinctive feature of CBT, will bring an end to mass exam malpractice in paper exams.
Innotelligent has turned technology to an enabler and facilitator of credible exams. Instead of aiming to shutdown the internet, we will now need to keep it on more and more during exam periods.