The director of the Ukrainian Center for Educational Quality Assessment urged test-takers to avoid using phones and chatbots during the National Multidisciplinary Test
Applicants rarely report instances of others cheating, especially during the National Multidisciplinary Test (NMT).
This was stated in an interview with Interfax by Tetyana Vakulenko, director of the Ukrainian Center for Educational Quality Assessment (UCEQA).
Test organizers are forced to constantly improve the monitoring system to counter new technical methods of evading fair assessment of knowledge.
Experts note that technological advancements and the availability of microscopic gadgets pose additional challenges for testing centers.
“Over the years of conducting computer-based testing, we’ve already encountered just about everything. We’ve seen virtually the entire ‘Chinese market’ of devices in various formats and with different functionalities. We understand that the cost of such devices is constantly decreasing, and therefore, the likelihood of their use is becoming increasingly high,” Vakulenko said in an exclusive interview with the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
The most critical task for the organizers is to prevent applicants from receiving real-time hints about the correct answers.
To this end, examiners carefully check for the presence of micro-earpieces and other communication devices. At the same time, traditional paper-based materials are gradually becoming obsolete due to their inefficiency.
Modern applicants mostly try to sneak mobile devices into computer labs, using items of clothing to conceal them.
“When it comes to cheat sheets, we haven’t seen very creative solutions lately. Sometimes they’re hidden in pens, but these are essentially the same methods that existed 30 years ago. Sometimes information is written on the body or clothing, but this isn’t fundamentally new either,” said the director of the UCEQA.
The head of the agency emphasized that attempts to cheat the system are strategically disadvantageous for the test-takers themselves due to the exam’s strict time limits. Attempts to photograph the questions or seek outside help only waste precious minutes.
“The testing is long—it covers four subjects in four hours, and there are quite a lot of questions. It’s theoretically possible to count on a cell phone or other device to help get one extra answer, but the time spent searching for the device, taking photos, and communicating with AI chatbots hardly justifies it,” she explained.
An analysis of complaints shows that most reports of violations come in after the exams have ended. Usually, applicants complain that someone peeked at the answers from a neighboring monitor due to the way the furniture was arranged.
However, experts carefully analyze each such report to rule out the possibility of personal grievances.
“At the same time, before making any decisions, we always verify the information, since sometimes such complaints are emotional in nature—when, for example, someone thinks, ‘I didn’t pass, so those who did must have cheated,’” added Vakulenko.
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