“I Didn’t Pass the Exam Because ...”: Testing the Viability of Conceptual Features for Actionable Analytics in the Context of Competency Exam Failure Reflection

Li, F; Jung, Y; Wise, A F

With the shift to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, educators turned to remote exam proctoring software to support integrity for online tests. However, due to the mechanisms used to surveil test-takers, these systems come with significant privacy and security tradeoffs. At the height of the pandemic, Balash et al. (SOUPS ’21) found that test-takers had privacy concerns with remote proctoring but acquiesced due to a number of factors. We investigate how perceptions have changed four years later. To gain a fuller perspective on how users experience these tools now, we replicate Balash et al.’s study with 127 participants who have experienced exam proctoring. We found a significant shift in favor of proctoring software, with greater acceptance of all monitoring methods compared to 2020. This is likely due to the convenience of remote exams and a growing resignation to privacy trade-offs. We discuss these implications and suggest future directions.

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