Testing in a Controlled Environment
Teachers are constantly trying to find new ways to improve and expand upon the education they offer students. In this never-ending search, online courses have become a useful resource to personalize learning and make education more accessible. In fact, virtual education has now become an integral part of the learning experience. However, there is one factor that has held online virtual schooling back from reaching its true potential—testing integrity.
Creating a Controlled Testing Environment Online
There are plenty of benefits associated with virtual schools. They provide an opportunity for students to learn at an individual pace, give students the freedom to attend school from a flexible location, and allow teachers to provide supplemental content to fill in gaps in learning. However, educators are still working on ways to ensure online academic testing integrity can’t be compromised through cheating.
The Issue of Cheating
When it comes to testing, the biggest problem is cheating. At a physical location, such as a high school, teachers are usually able to mitigate cheating by monitoring the classroom. The presence of a vigilant moderator is typically enough to create an environment that deters cheating. However, virtual schools lack this controlled environment because students work remotely. As such, some would say that virtual learning makes it easier for students to cheat, making it unsuitable for tests, especially statewide standardized tests.
Cheating Safeguards
Although it may seem easier to cheat the system through online classes, that’s not necessarily the case. There are plenty of safeguard measures educators use to create a controlled environment that makes it almost impossible to cheat. One method educators rely on for this purpose is requiring students to have a licensed proctor to facilitate major assessments. Additionally, webcams and video conferencing allow teachers to keep an eye on a student’s actions.
Simplifying Virtual Testing
As technology improves, so does virtual testing security. Nowadays, there are a plethora of options that simplify the process of creating a controlled environment for virtual testing. A timed test limits a student’s ability to look up answers, adaptive tests can scale a test’s difficulty according to performance, and there are programs that can detect plagiarism.
The Role of Managed IT Support
Accomplishing a controlled test environment isn’t exactly easy; there’s a lot of technology involved in the process. To make testing integrity easier, many educators rely on managed IT providers. Managed IT companies can provide the equipment and services needed to achieve and maintain a controlled environment.
VTG’s Team Are Experts in Digital Education Technologies
Virtual Technologies Group is your go-to provider for education technology equipment and proctor services. We work with a variety of vendors to provide you with the most up-to-date virtual education assessment systems. Our technicians and proctors will appear onsite and stay for the entire testing process.
To learn more about our services, give us a call today!