Software ‘closes net’ on exam cheats

Written by The TES

UK – A new electronic weapon in the war against exam cheats was unveiled in the UK last week, The TES reports.

From this summer, pupils and schools who try to con their way through GCSEs and A-levels will face detection by software developed by Cambridge Assessment.

The system extends a statistical technique, already used to catch out cheats in multiple choice tests, to exam essay questions.

It does not involve the actual text of candidates’ answers. But data from computerised on-screen exam marking allows the software to instantly compare where exactly each candidate gained the marks available for their essays.

A-level English literature candidates, for example, could pick up different marks for the way they present their arguments, their skills of analysis and their knowledge and understanding of texts.

Where two or more scripts from the same school or college have achieved suspiciously similar patterns of marks the system will flag the papers up for further investigation.

The drive against cheating in schools has already led to all exam boards being given access to a different kind of plagiarism-detection software pioneered in universities.

Since May 2008 they have been able to use it to analyse pupils’ written coursework by comparing submitted text with writing on the internet and databases of other material, so that copied work can be highlighted.

A growing number of schools also use the software.

Cambridge Assessment said its system was aimed at detecting and deterring malpractice from both individual candidates and teachers and schools.