Software, extra invigilators to keep first online board exams ‘clean’ across Kolkata – Times of India

KOLKATA: Ahead of the first scheduled online board exams, schools across the city are trying to put in place measures that would make it very difficult for examinees to resort to cheating.
Both CBSE and ISCE have announced bifurcated boards, with the first semesters due in October-November. The new measures are required in order to maintain the integrity of assessment and provide credibility to the exercise.
While some schools have decided to use third-party software, others have decided to have more invigilators during online examinations. There are some who plan to instruct students to have mirrors behind them, while yet others plan to instruct pupils to keep their device camera switched on for the duration of the exam, with multiple teachers monitoring.
Lakshmipat Singhania Academy will use online proctoring, an assessment method that enables students to write an exam online in a remote location while maintaining the integrity of the exam. “This method will help identify whether anybody uses any unfair means. It will ease pressure on teachers and require the student to use only one device,” said director Meena Kak.
Several heads of schools have admitted that they were not sure whether a section of students used unfair means and how much they learnt through online classes. Copying answers after looking it up online has become common among students, schools say. So, some schools like The Heritage, while preparing answer keys, have been keeping the readily available answers handy. “The moment the invigilator sees the answer, s/he knows whether it has been copied or not,” said principal, Seema Sapru.
DPS Ruby Park will use mirrors behind board-year examinees in the final exams to get a full view of the room in which they are sitting for the test. Parents are also requested to partner in the invigilation. Loveleen Saigal, principal of Birla High School, said: “We are keeping the camera on for the entire duration and have more than one teacher invigilating to keep better vigil on examinees.” Principal of DPS Newtown, Sonali Sen, said: “We have divided the classrooms into halves so that each teacher has a smaller number of students to invigilate.”