Student Acceptability of High‐Stakes e‐Assessment in Dental Education: Using Privacy Screen Filters to Control Cheating

Abstract

Acceptability is a required quality for a sound assessment. For students, acceptability of a test is strongly inluenced by perception of fairness. Computer-based assessment has been reported to be preferred by students provided that strict controls to prevent cheating are in place. This may be dificult to achieve as e-assessments are often taken in learning environments where computer screens are close together. In this study, 138 Year 5 dental students completed an e-assessment followed by an onscreen post-assessment questionnaire about the acceptability, fairness, and effectiveness of using privacy screen ilters installed in front of their monitors to prevent cheating. Ninety-one percent of students in this study considered that taking a summative e-assessment with privacy screen ilters was acceptable, 86 percent expressed the view that ilters contributed to a fairer test, and 54 percent reported the ilters made it easier or did not make any difference to read the screen. In addition, 60 percent gave positive comments and feedback, mainly focused on prevention of cheating. These indings suggest that privacy ilters, originally developed for data protection in banks, medicine, and business, have potential in e-assessment in higher education. They provide an effective way of hampering cheating and improve student acceptability and conidence in the fairness of computer-delivered assessments. Dr. Escudier is Senior Lecturer in

Dental students' and faculty perception of online exams with e‐invigilation in Cyprus

“…Approximately 55% of the students reported no exam dishonesty, while the other half sought assistance from friends or other sources 28 . The acceptance of e‐invigilation was high among the EUC students (mean 4.13, Question 9), a finding that is consistent with previous studies (90% acceptance rate in the study of Escudier et al) 30 …”

“…Another issue deserving particular attention is the e‐invigilation systems used in online exams to prevent cheating and preserve academic honesty. A variety of systems and combination of methods has been used to ensure academic integrity during the online exams: privacy screen filters for on‐site exams, 30 ExamID and ExamMonitor to confirm student identities and to video‐audio monitor them, 43 signed Ethics Pledge in combination with Zoom videoconferencing application (Zoom Communications Inc., San Jose, CA, USA) and with ‘cheating behaviour lists’, 32 face‐tracking movement and artificial intelligence, 31,32 random question sequencing and shuffling in the order of choices 28,32 …”

“…Another issue deserving particular attention is the e-invigilation systems used in online exams to prevent cheating and preserve academic honesty. A variety of systems and combination of methods has been used to ensure academic integrity during the online exams: privacy screen filters for on-site exams, 30 ExamID and ExamMonitor to confirm student identities and to video-audio monitor them, 43 lists', 32 face-tracking movement and artificial intelligence, 31,32 random question sequencing and shuffling in the order of choices. 28,32 To prevent cheating, EUC applied the random shuffling of both questions and answers by the software in combination with the Respondus Monitor and LockDown Browser proctoring system, a system widely used in remote exams.…”

“…[17][18][19]25 Various conclusions and recommendations were drawn in relation to the pedagogical, technological and emotional aspects of this methodology. Successful implementations were reported, 4,24,26,27 but also disadvantages and challenging aspects were identified, including technical problems related to internet connectivity/e-exam platforms, 4,28,29 stress and anxiety, 4,15,16,18 mental health and students well-being, 3,20,28 security and cheating issues 4,[30][31][32] and the institutions' support. 14,19,28 The…”

Relationship Between Variables of pre- and post-Randomized Questions in Computer-based Tests

“…An experiment in Dental Education suggested that a physical barrier would deter cheating. Research by [13] using survey data showed that covering monitors with screen filters increases their acceptability 90% among students, and helps students feel safer while writing exams. It was not clear whether they used randomization methodology, however, it is obvious that using screen filters darkens viewable content by reducing the readability of colorful pathology images.…”