Leaked test content is way more common than you realize. Chances are, you or someone you know has found content on “homework help” (aka pay us a subscription fee to help you cheat) or online forums.
It happens at all levels of higher education and across every industry in professional education. Faculty are finding entire midterms and final exams. Credentialing bodies are finding that certification and licensure exams are shared and sold. And companies are even realizing that questions from internal training and development tests are also leaked.
This leaves anyone in charge of those exams scrambling to create brand new questions, but what happens when those are leaked? If you aren’t using the right technology, you’re just reacting instead of addressing the issue.
How is test content leaked?
Test content is shared on forums like Reddit and Quora, shady homework help sites, and even “practice exams” sold by scammy companies.
Homework-help sites, for example, sell subscriptions that provide access to their “help” database and subject-matter experts (SMEs). Test takers upload questions, SMEs answer them, and those answers are saved to the database and available to anyone who needs “help.”
Where is test content usually shared?
Test content is typically leaked when test takers record their screens, take screenshots, copy and paste text, or take photos on their phones.
Some people take exams solely to memorize questions and sell them online. Technology can’t prevent that from happening, but it can find it when it happens.
How to find leaked test questions on the Internet
You basically have two options to find leaked exam content:
- Manually searching the internet for each test question
- Automatically searching for all test questions within a few minutes
Obviously, manually searching for leaked test questions can be overwhelming and time-consuming. But Search & Destroy™ can automate this for you.
Search & Destroy is a proctoring tool that searches the Internet for all test questions in minutes and provides a one-click option to request removal.
How does Search & Destroy work?
1. Searches the Internet automatically when Honorlock is enabled for a proctored online exam.
2. Admins receive results within minutes showing which questions are leaked and where.
3. Click once to send takedown requests to the sites displaying copyrighted test questions. This also gives admins the ability to use these findings to update exam questions as needed.
Additional proctoring features to secure online exams
Honorlock’s hybrid proctoring solution combines AI and live proctors and offers a variety of features to prevent cheating on exams by:
- Detecting cell phones, tablets, smartwatches, and other devices
- Capturing the exam environment and behavior with dual camera monitoring
- Blocking AI tools like ChatGPT, invisible desktop assistants like Cluely, and browser tools like Google’s homework helper.
- Verifying identity and scanning the room before starting an exam
- Detecting relevant speech instead of unimportant noises
- Locking the browser down
What would happen to your program’s reputation if all of the answers to your exams are out there for any and everyone? Why would students and participants pay for credentials that aren’t legitimate? And why would employers take them seriously? They won’t.
Protect your proprietary content, exam integrity, and reputation with Honorlock’s Search & Destroy technology and advanced proctoring features.