Can Pearson Detect Cheating? How To Cheat on Persons Tests

The world is slowly evolving, and the methods of performing various tasks are being automated through the use of technology. The education sector has not been left behind.

There is the introduction of distance learning, where students attend classes and sit for their examinations online.

Therefore, onsite and online proctoring is being used continuously by governments, businesses, and learning institutions to help them monitor their government, professional and academic programs.

This revelation has seen the sprout of various proctoring platforms like Pearson.

However, there are discussions in the education fraternity with some stakeholders claiming that these online study tools and proctoring solutions contribute to more cheating.

For example, one would ask, does Pearson detect cheating?

This article will respond to this question and provide a detailed guide and description of the methods that Pearson employs to detect cheating among students.

---

Can Pearson Detect Cheating?

Pearson can detect whenever a candidate tries to cheat during an online test.

Pearson VUE is considered the leading worldwide company that offers government, professional, and academic online testing curriculums.

First, a candidate can only register for a Pearson exam once. Duplicate registrations will be denied. Nonetheless, when a student registers for an exam multiple times, their registration charges are fortified.

Additionally, Pearson VUE may revoke and disqualify the candidature of such a student. Finally, their results are canceled if they sit for an exam under different profiles.

Secondly, a candidate cannot register for a Pearson examination using false details. This practice is considered cheating, and the platform will not allow such students to sit for the test.

Remember, a candidate should upload their photos and provide the correct personal details. In addition, students must carry a valid, non-expired ID card and show the test administrator to validate their identification.

Pearson proctored tests are usually timed. This platform employs a proctoring software called OnVue that monitors the activities of the student’s computer desktop.

In addition, the proctoring software monitors the student’s surroundings during the test through the use of a webcam and a microphone.

All the student’s activities, including eye movements, body language, additional sounds in the test centre, and their computer operations, are captured. Therefore, the proctoring software will seize any unusual behavior and attempt to cheat.

If a student is suspected of cheating in the test, the instructor can recheck the audio-visual recording of the student during the test.

After reviewing the tape, the instructor is in a better position to determine if the student cheated or not. If they cheated, the recording is used as a piece of evidence to support the claim.

Can Pearson Detect Cheating on Homework?

Pearson cannot detect cheating on homework. This is because homework is not usually proctored. Therefore, it becomes hard for Pearson to see whether the student cheats while attempting the assignment or not.

If the homework is not proctored, there are numerous ways students cheat on such homework, most of which go on unnoticed by this platform or the instructors.

First, students can look up answers from the numerous study materials on the Pearson program. In addition, some lookup solutions from other study tools and use them on their homework.

Secondly, some students do not attempt the homework and have a hired professional writer or a friend do the task on their behalf.

Impersonation in most of such situations is, on the whole rampant. Students whose pockets run deep do not have problems with such dubious methods of undertaking homework.

However, if students cheat on their homework, a Pearson teacher may still detect the cheating through Unicheck, a plagiarism detection software.

This software checks for plagiarism in written homework responses of essays or discussions. In such a case, if the student cheated and plagiarized their work, Pearson will catch them.

If a teacher suspects that a student cheated on their Pearson homework, they can review their previous homework. Through doing so, they can compare the previous responses and the current ones and check whether their grammar, syntax, and vocabulary correspond.

In such situations, teachers may also compare the earlier grades to capture if there were sudden improvements.

Can Pearson Detect Copy and Paste?

Pearson can detect all the instances of copying and pasting of answers. Regardless of whether the copy and paste function has been disabled or not, Pearson will get hold of any attempt to copy and paste solutions.

Remember, before a student sits for any Pearson online test, they are required to grant the platform permission to monitor their computer hardware, including input hardware.

Therefore, Pearson Vue can monitor their keyboard and mouse activities using the Pearson Lockdown Browser. Any attempt to use the copy and paste function will thus be captured accordingly.

On the Pearson Vue program, there is a secure browser. This browser is responsible for locking the student’s desktop computer down to not access functions such as copy and paste, share exam content, open additional applications, and the print function.

Pearson will get hold of the candidate if the candidate tries to tamper with any of the locked functions. The results of that act will be to disqualify the student from continuing with the online exam.

In addition, if there is any suspicion that a student managed to copy-paste from other web pages during the test, the instructor will review their keyboard and mouse activities to determine if that is the case or not.

---

Can Pearson Detect Switching Tabs?

Pearson Vue can detect when a candidate tries to switch tabs during an examination.

The results for that action will be disqualification because switching tabs during an online assessment is treated as cheating.

This platform employs the Pearson LockDown Browser to minimize the operations students can utilize during an exam or a test.

In addition, this LockDown Browser deters candidates from accessing additional browser windows or applications. Therefore, any student that tries to switch tabs during the test will be detected.

For example, during a Pearson proctored test, a candidate cannot shift away from the test and access other tabs. The Pearson LockDown Browser deters them from doing so.

However, the LockDown Browser is only applicable in proctored quizzes or tests. Since the Browser is an independent application, students who sit for the lock-down examinations on their personal computers must install the application using the Browser Check.

However, some students still employ cunning techniques to get around the Pearson lockdown Browser.

For example, some use additional monitors, and through screen-sharing, they can have their friends access the test in a separate room and look up answers on their behalf.

Can Pearson See Your Screen?

Pearson can see what is going on in a candidate’s computer’s monitor during a proctored test. This has been made possible after a partnership between Pearson and ProctorU, a leading company that offers proctoring solutions to many higher learning institutions.

The Respondus Proctoring Monitor employed by Pearson sees and records the student’s activities and surroundings and their computer’s screen activity.

That said, the technology does not only see your screen but records the activities.

In case of any malicious activities within the candidate’s screen, Pearson records the activities for the instructors to review.

Some of the activities that the administrator can capture in your screen during the test include; how much time you spend on each question, the number of questions you have answered at a particular time, switch tabs, open new browser windows, or if you highlight a text on the screen to copy and paste.

Suppose the administrator observes any of the above-named mischievous activities on a candidate’s screen.

In that case, they will treat such activities as cheating and flag the candidate off for infringing academic integrity and honor code.

Does Pearson Mylab Track You?

Pearson Mylab does not track you unless you. This platform complies with the student privacy rules by securing and protecting their data at all times.

For Pearson Mylab to perform its mandate by providing their services proficiently, they need to collect some personal data from its clients.

Some of the information they collect include name, telephone number, email address, fax number, credit card number, mailing address, employment information, and professional qualifications if you have any.

That said, Pearson Mylab does not disclose to, or share with, third parties their clients’ personal information.

This platform does not share a user’s personally identifiable data like names collected through the site.

In addition, through a collaboration between Pearson and EthicsPoint, they have developed a technique where anyone can file a report anonymously.

As a result, staff, current, and former students can anonymously report to Pearson fraudulent and unethical practices, encroachment of any safety rules, or any other actions which infringe the Pearson Community Policies.

However, this platform can track you on an official request by your institution or through court orders. This happens when you infringe any academic integrity rules, for example, using the platform to cheat in an online test.

Remember, Pearson may contract third-party companies like Google Analytics which collect a client’s data such as their browser type, the pages they see, referring pages, and their IP addresses.

In addition, they employ cookies that can hold a client’s browsing history. When you cheat or infringe the site’s honor code, they can use this information to track the client.

---

How to Cheat on Pearson Test?

Even if Pearson employs stringent measures and methods to ensure that candidates do not cheat in their online proctored exams, students can still find clever ways to cheat in these tests. Some of the techniques they can employ include;

• Use screen-sharing software

All a candidate needs are an extra screen, an HDMI cord, a friend, and technical competence in this technique. Through screen sharing, a candidate will have a friend sitting in the other room accessing the test questions and looking up answers on their behalf. They will then share the answers secretly without the proctor noticing.

• Hire a professional writer

Through impersonation and faking of identity, a candidate can hire an expert writer to sit for the Pearson test on their behalf. All they need is a fake ID, and the experts sit for the test posing as the student. Students whose pockets run deep occasionally employ this technique because experts have a higher likelihood of getting better grades.

• Employ old-school cheating methods

Candidates can write short notes or the expected answers on their palms, small pieces of paper, or the wall behind their computers. However, this is a risky technique to employ.

• Use electronic devices

Students can use high-tech devices such as invisible smartwatches, small Bluetooth devices, spy eyeglasses, and programmable calculators to store formulas.

• Tamper with the recording devices

Before the test commences, a Pearson test candidate can control and reduce the audio input to reduce the sound quality detected in their center. In addition, the student can cover their webcam using transparent tape to blur the proctor’s view.

---

Conclusion

Can Pearson detect cheating? After reading this article, one would agree that the answer to this question is a yes, even if it is still possible to cheat the platform. However, as a student, it is advisable to plan to study and not plan to cheat. It is through that way you will understand the courses that you learn entirely.