Proctored Versus Unproctored Testing
What are the different test administration options?

  1. Unproctored Test Administration - testing with no direct human supervision of the test session.
    Advantage: reduces resource drain on the test administrators
    Disadvantages : does not ensure test taker verification or eliminate confidentiality, cheating and potential legal ramifications

  2. Unproctored with Identity Verification - testing with no direct human supervision of test session, but the test is only made available to known test takers.
    Advantage: reduces the potential of the test taker falsifying his or her identity
    Disadvantages : is not a full-proof method of verifying the test taker’s identity

  3. Proctored Test Administration - testing with direct human supervision of the session, and the test taker’s identity can be verified.
    Advantage: reduces the potential of the test taker falsifying his or her identity
    Disadvantage: may be unrealistic or create an administrative challenge for all test sessions to have direct human supervision

  4. Unproctored with Proctored Follow Up - a combination of both proctoring and unproctoring testing methods.
    Advantage: reduces the potential of the test taker falsifying his or her identity
    Disadvantage: can increase the number of times a candidate is tested if there are two separate testing sessions

  5. Third Party Administration - having a third party administer and proctor your organisation's testing sessions.
    Advantage : can ease the administrative burden of testing a large number of candidates at one time
    Disadvantage : can be cost prohibitive for a relatively low number of candidates

Are there preferred administration methods based on type of assessment?

In general, tests that have a specific right/wrong answer (e.g., MS Office tests) are better suited in a proctored environment. For behavior or attitudinal type assessments (e.g., personality), either a proctored or unproctored administration method is acceptable.

What is unproctored Internet testing?

Unproctored Internet testing (UIT) refers to the administration of Internet-based tests to a candidate without being able to verify the candidate’s identity or ensure consistent testing conditions. While the Internet allows for testing anywhere at any time, there are some risks to using UIT.

What are the risks associated with UIT?

Administering tests without verifying a candidate’s identity could lead to a compromised test session. It is never known with 100%    certainty that the person who takes an assessment is the person who shows up on the first day of work. With UIT, the certainty of applicant identity is lower. No matter the security measure, cheating and/or misrepresentation are risks inherent to UIT.

In response to this situation, what is best practices recommendation for UIT?

Have a single point of applicant entry into the UIT such as a one-time use URL to minimise the risk of a compromised testing session
Follow unproctored testing with a proctored testing session to verify consistency in candidate responses.

Research shows:

UIT test scores do not typically rise over time (as one would expect if applicants were successfully cheating on tests)
Unproctored tests continue to generate ROI for our clients.