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Secure Testing Options for the University
Jason Smith
Innovation in Learning Center
April 12, 2011
Introduction
The University of South Alabama currently offers 350 fully online courses annually. In fall 2010
alone, enrollment reached 4,465 students. In addition to these online courses, the University
offers a number of blended courses which continues to grow each semester. As enrollment
increases for these courses each semester there is an increasing need for a variety of options
for student assessment. This report identifies and compares two categories of services: online
proctoring and secure environment testing services.
Existing Security Protocols
Current authentication methods in place for testing fully online courses consist of a unique
login identifier (username) and password for each student. Once registered for an online
course an email is generated containing their login password. This method of authentication
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others, willingly or not. Although this method has proven effective in the past, increased
protocols should be implemented in the future to guarantee students taking exams online are,
in fact, who they are supposed to be.
Online Proctoring
Online proctoring is becoming more common in higher education due in part to the rapid
growth of distance education and increasing requirements by accreditation agencies. Live
proctoring has proven effective over the years but the scheduling, staffing, and facility
requirements can be costly and staff‐intensive. Online proctoring can reduce costs and staff
requirements by outsourcing to a third‐party. Commercial services such as Sylvan charge $65
per proctored assessment session, per student. Third party proctors for out of state students
are also available, but require an extensive effort to verify authorized proctors and securely
exchange test materials. Online proctoring brings the benefit of live proctoring to students
within their homes or dorms. A live proctor is connected via videoconference and interacts
with the student, monitoring the session via webcam and microphone. Below are some
commercial products that offer this service.
ProctorU1 is a web‐based proctoring service that provides students with an interface to
schedule, setup and proctor an online test from any internet‐enabled location. A student
schedules a proctor via web interface and at the time of the exam, the student downloads a
plugin that enables the proctor to view the student’s webcam and screen simultaneously, and
can provide support for the duration of the test, should any technical issues arise.
ProctorU requires no institutional contract, membership or setup costs; cost of the proctoring
session is generally pushed to the student and fees range from $20‐$25 per 2 hour session.
Students are required to own a webcam to stream live video to the proctor, and most
supported cameras range from $30‐$80.
Kryterion2 is a company that provides test deployment and delivery services, including online
proctoring with certified proctors, a secure test delivery environment via Sentinel Secure, and
hosts a nationwide testing center. Sessions are recorded and available for review 24/7. Pricing:
Based on 10,000 enrollments, a one‐time fee of $10,000 is charged for setup and integration.
Fees per exam range from $24 to $30, and require each student to purchase a webcam ($49‐
$89).
Software Secure’s Remote Proctor3 is a hardware‐based proctoring
solution that combines biometric fingerprint security and audio/video
recording in one device. Remote Proctor is a service combined with a
USB device that verifies student identity via fingerprint and then records
1 http://www.proctoru.com/ 2 http://www.kryteriononline.com 3
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audio and a 360 degree view of the test‐takers environment for the duration of the assessment.
Recorded video is archived and accessible by instructor or administrator, or each video can be
reviewed by Software Secure’s review staff at a rate of $.08/exam minute. Each Remote
Proctor device costs $150 and requires the following additional fees: $30 annual license per
device, $15 support and hosting fee, per device.
Secure Environment Testing Services
In order to ensure test reliability and security, students should take non‐proctored tests in an
environment secured by software‐based tools that guarantee operating system environment
security and restricts the user to content only required for current test. This section covers
solutions that could be used to author, manage and deliver assessments using secure testing
environments for students taking exams in a variety of locations (e.g., a campus testing facility,
student’s dorm room, or home).
Standalone Test Creation and Delivery Platforms
Scantron Parsytem4 is a software package that provides the following functions: creation of
multi‐format tests from item banks, administration of tests online or on a network, grading and
scoring functions. Parsystem is made up of two components: Partest and Partest Online.
Partest Online is the component that provides secure assessment for tests created in Scantron’s
Partest and works by securing the test‐takers desktop, limiting access to websites and local
files. This service can be used both in a secure testing facility, to deliver tests to other locations
via internet, or can simultaneously deliver both.
Pricing for unlimited users: PartTest, the test building component costs $2,500. ParTest Online
costs $2,125.
Questionmark Perception5 is a test authoring software package that includes: the ability to
create tests, security software to control the roster and scheduling, a web server component
that provides for secure delivery via the web, and web based reporting software.
Questionmark Secure is the component that provides secure assessment via web browser. This
system is commonly used in a secured testing facility. Questionmark Perception Server is
required to allow assessment deployment across the Internet or an internal network.
Questionmark Perception is currently in use by the USA College of Medicine on 80 leased Dell
laptops, used only for testing. According to the College, the system has been effective for
testing but is time consuming managing the equipment‐ standard maintenance for eighty
laptops is time consuming and they also have logistics issues distributing laptops on test day.
Pricing for a 250 participant deployment costs $6,5946 for the whole system with an annual
software support cost of $1,649.
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http://www.scantron.com/parsystem
5 http://www.questionmark.com/us/perception 6
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Respondus 7is a software package used to create and manage exams to be delivered by paper
or electronically. Respondus Lockdown Browser is a custom browser that locks down the
testing environment within the LMS. When students use Respondus LockDown Browser they
are unable to print, copy, go to another URL, or access other applications. When an assessment
is started, students are locked into it until they submit it for grading. eCollege’s ExamGuard is
powered by Respondus, and is similar in functionality to Lockdown Browser.
Pricing: Respondus Lockdown Browser can be purchased two ways‐ campus‐wide licensing
model that is based on student FTE status and renews annually, or a “lab pack” licensing model
that also renews annually. Campus‐wide licensing for10,000 to 15,000 students is $3,9958 per
year, and the lab pack is $49 per workstation. Respondus, the test generation tool, has a one‐
time fee of $200 for registration and for 10,000 to 20,000 students it runs $2,545 annually. The
College of Nursing currently has a license for Respondus.
Secure Environment Software
The software packages described below are not specifically designed for testing and
assessment, but provide similar secure environment services that would be sufficient in a
controlled testing center.
Faronics Insight 9 is a
classroom management
suite that enables remote
monitoring of each
workstation from one
central machine. An
instructor or lab staff
member can sit at one
station and monitor the
active screens of each
workstation in the lab.
Volume pricing: Tiered
pricing, 1‐4 classrooms
costs $599 per classroom.
5‐9 classrooms costs $499
per classroom.
Fortres Grand 10110 is a lab management package that allows detailed controls over what
services, applications, and hardware is available to the user. This package is often used to
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http://www.respondus.com/products/lockdown.shtml
8 Respondus Pricing, http://www.respondus.com/products/respondus_campus3.shtml 9 http://www.faronics.com/en/Products/Insight/InsightEducation.aspx
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protect public computers in labs from infections, malicious or unauthorized software
installations, or other misuses. Fortres 101 works by a security agent that resides invisibly in
memory while each computer action is quietly monitored to determine if that action is
permitted or not. Pricing is tiered: 50 licenses for $583.50 / 22.28 per license, 150 licenses for
$1283.5 / 8.56 per license.
Identity Verification
In June 2010, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) released a statement11
updating their policy on distance and correspondence education. This statement reads in part
“…the institution must demonstrate that the student who registers in a distance or
correspondence education course or program is the same student that participates in and
completes the course…”. Based
on this guideline, USA is currently
working to deploy an identity
verification solution, Acxiom
Identity Verification Services12,
within its learning management
systems. Although it is neither an
online proctoring nor a secure
environment tool, USA recognizes
the need to accurately verify
students enrolled in distance
education courses. Acxiom
confirms student identities by
asking students user‐friendly
challenge questions generated
from publicly available data. Questions are presented to students before entering an online
exam, and if answered incorrectly a report is generated and sent to an administrator or faculty
of record. The student is then allowed to proceed with the examination. Acxiom provides
tiered pricing based on the requested amount of transactions, or student challenge events.
Pricing ranges from $1.50 to $2.00 per transaction. The initial Acxiom deployment for the
University will include 2,500 at $1.90 per transaction. This service is scheduled to be deployed
to a test group for Summer 2011 and made available for courses in USAOnline for Fall 2011.
Sakai integration is currently in the predevelopment phase and earliest availability is Fall 2011.
11Distance and Correspondence Education, Policy Statement June 2010
http://www.sacscoc.org/pdf/Distance%20and%20correspondence%20policy%20final.pdf 12
http://www.acxiom.com/products_and_services/identity_solutions/AcxiomIdentityVerification/Pages/AcxiomIden tityVerification.aspx
6 Summary
There are many commercial tools available that can be used standalone or in combination with
other services to ensure a secure testing environment is provided for students. Some services
described above work best in a controlled testing center environment, while others are
designed to function in as many environments as possible. In order to accommodate the
variety of student needs, this author recommends the University offer multiple options for
hybrid and distance learning classes. An official testing center equipped with proper security
and monitoring software combined with the option of remote proctoring services would be
