This is Part 2 in our 2-part blog series about the latest topics and trends shaping the future of assessments in the UK. To read Part I, click here. To learn more on these topics, please download the full guide.
Ensuring an exceptional user experience and flexibility for your candidates doesn’t have to come at the expense of exam integrity. By applying rigorous processes and leveraging the latest technology throughout the assessment lifecycle, you can protect the validity, reliability, and fairness of your exams, while offering the flexibility that today’s candidates expect.
One growing concern in exam delivery is the potential for candidates to use generative AI tools like ChatGPT to cheat. However, this challenge can be effectively mitigated by deploying a secure lockdown browser—a proven solution that prevents candidates from accessing other applications during an exam. As malpractice technologies advance and those who use them become more organised, our tools to combat them must also evolve. But it’s important to remember that securing exams isn’t just about adopting the latest trends.
Leveraging Technology to Enhance Exam Security
One way to increase exam security is through Linear on the Fly Testing (LOFT), which generates virtually unlimited equivalent forms, reducing the exposure of your test content. Similarly, adaptive testing dynamically adjusts the items presented to a candidate based on their performance, offering a secure, tailored assessment experience. With the use of large item banks that are regularly refreshed and contain multiple forms, the chances of candidates encountering the same test items repeatedly are significantly reduced.
Meeting Regulatory Compliance Requirements
Another key consideration for your assessment programme is regulatory compliance. There are numerous challenges involved in test delivery and development, including safeguarding candidate privacy, ensuring technical support, and protecting data security during delivery. Furthermore, rigorous processes are needed to guarantee the validity, reliability, and fairness of exams during the test content development phase.
Compliance with Ofqual and other UK regulators governance rules is essential, covering aspects such as managing conflicts of interest, handling incidents, and reporting information accurately. This also means adhering to Competition Law, Data Protection Law, and Equalities Law. Having robust security measures in place for both test development and delivery will help ensure that your exams are legally defensible. Additionally, you must be prepared to manage capacity planning, system upgrades, and any potential incidents—reporting them to both clients and the regulator as needed.
The Role of Your Testing Provider
Your testing provider plays a pivotal role in ensuring that your programme complies with regulatory standards, such as those set by Ofqual and other UK regulators. This includes setting, delivering, and marking assessments while also managing third-party relationships with test centres and publishers. A reliable provider will help you meet Service Level Agreements (SLAs), handle critical issues promptly, and ensure that all commonly used reasonable adjustments are accessible to candidates. Moreover, platforms should comply with web content accessibility guidelines, ensuring that your assessments are inclusive.
Testing providers also offer psychometric services and statistical analysis to ensure that qualifications are fit for purpose, valid, reliable, comparable, and manageable, with minimal bias.
The Power of Data Forensics in Exam Security
Data forensics is an increasingly powerful tool in enhancing exam security. By analysing statistical indices, it can detect unusual patterns that may suggest malpractice, such as proxy testing, collusion, item harvesting, or pre-knowledge of test items. Examples include similar responses across multiple candidates, unusual response times, or drastic shifts in an item’s average score.
Recent advances in real-time data forensics allow us to quickly identify suspicious behaviour and take immediate action. Additionally, proactive web crawling helps discover exposed test content on the internet or social media, ensuring that such content can be promptly removed, further securing your assessments.
Case Study: ISACA’s Use of Data Forensics
For ISACA’s testing programme, PSI’s data forensics tools have proven invaluable in detecting fraudulent activity. As Kim Cohen, Senior Director of Credentialing at ISACA, explains:
“It is hard to prove cheating, but data forensics enables us to identify individuals who have pre-knowledge and, in compliance with our candidate agreement, we enforce nullifications of their exam scores. My advice to any organisation considering a data forensics programme with PSI is to do it.”
Data forensics analyses responses at multiple levels: Test Taker Level, where it identifies similar responses and unusual patterns; Test Level, where it detects shifts in an item’s average score; and Group Level, where regions or test sites with high rates of flagged candidates can be identified. These insights support further investigations, from reviewing test recordings to conducting surprise inspections at test centres.
Maintaining Exam Integrity from Development to Delivery
Exam integrity goes beyond just secure delivery—your test content plays an equally critical role in maintaining your programme’s credibility. Developing and reviewing high-quality content helps ensure the security of your exams throughout their lifecycle. The process should begin with job task analysis and content specification, followed by the recruitment, training, and management of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs).
Secure item authoring, review, and banking, along with validation studies, are crucial steps in protecting the integrity of your test content. Regular item reviews and timely updates in response to new legislation or industry standards ensure your content remains legally defensible and up to date. Having a team of exam development experts on hand will allow you to integrate rigorous, secure processes throughout the exam lifecycle.
Case Study: Responding to Regulatory Changes for Global Clients
One example of PSI’s work in maintaining regulatory compliance comes from the California Department of Real Estate (DRE), the largest real estate licence programme in the United States. PSI worked closely with DRE to conduct a rigorous review of their exam items to ensure compliance with both existing and emerging regulations. Over 18 months, PSI’s team reviewed thousands of items, updating them to reflect new laws in areas such as marketing, property management, and fair housing.
“PSI took the security of our exam content very seriously. I also appreciated their flexibility and communication. The PSI team ensured the whole process was controlled and straightforward for us.”
— Jeff Oboyski, Assistant Commissioner of Licensing, California Department of Real Estate
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in Testing
Exams have the power to change lives, and they should be accessible to individuals from diverse backgrounds. Ensuring that your assessments are legally defensible and comply with EDI regulations is essential. Important innovations around EDI in testing include delivery platforms that support assistive technologies, offering exams in various formats such as Braille, and providing specialised equipment at test centres to accommodate different needs.
By recruiting a diverse group of Subject Matter Experts and applying EDI guidelines throughout the exam development process, you can ensure your test content is inclusive and free from bias. Data forensics can also help identify unintentional bias within test results, allowing for continuous improvements in fairness and inclusivity.
Case Study: The Linux Foundation’s Global Reach
As the world’s largest open-source software project, The Linux Foundation faced a unique challenge: how to make certification exams accessible to candidates anywhere, at any time. With PSI’s seamless solution, candidates can now access exams through The Linux Foundation website, providing a smooth experience from login to exam completion.
“We have a lot of positive feedback from candidates on the seamlessness of the exam delivery process. Kudos to the great work the PSI team did. In terms of programme operations, it’s been a really collaborative experience.”
— Clyde Seepersad, General Manager of Training, The Linux Foundation
PSI now supports 24/7 exam delivery worldwide for The Linux Foundation, ensuring flexibility and accessibility for all candidates.
Mitigating the Risks of Change
Introducing significant changes to your testing programme, whether transitioning to multi-modal testing or switching testing partners, can be daunting. However, working with a partner experienced in high-stakes testing ensures that your candidates experience no disruption, regardless of whether they are testing remotely or in person. A partner with expertise in both online proctoring and multi-modal delivery will help you make these changes confidently.
By adopting rigorous security practices and innovative technologies, you can protect the integrity and fairness of your exams while offering the flexibility that candidates and employers expect. With PSI’s support, your organisation can confidently navigate the evolving landscape of UK assessments.
Stay tuned for more insights on navigating regulatory compliance and exam security, and learn how PSI’s solutions can help you achieve success.
At PSI, we believe that every exam is more than just a test—it’s about realising a dream. Let us help you deliver secure, flexible, and fair assessments that uphold the integrity of your organisation. Read our guide on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Testing to discover how we can support your journey.
To learn more on these topics, please download the full guide.
