October 2, 2020

Another kind of testing dilemma

Going to school at home means sometimes taking tests from home. And increasingly that means digital proctoring. Many students are taking exams in front of software that locks down their computers, records their faces and scans their video feeds in an attempt to thwart cheating.

Monitoring programs like Proctorio and ExamSoft first raised alarms among users and education professionals about privacy, but now many students are finding that the programs they’re required to use may not have been well designed to consider race, class or disability — and in some cases, simply don’t work. Many are organizing on and across campuses for alternatives or for their eradication.

Sergine Beaubrun, 30, graduated law school in May. Before taking the bar exam in New York, she had to complete a “mock exam” from ExamSoft, a much-criticized company administering the exam remotely this year. One facet of the mock exam requires that the software “identify” the tester’s face. It could not recognize Ms. Beaubrun, who is Afro-Latina.

Some students with disabilities say proctoring software creates an accessibility barrier by requiring them to repeatedly request and justify small accommodations like extra water and snacks on their desks.

Others, who have additional duties at home, struggle to find quiet, well-lit places that the software requires. Jazi, 19, a student at the University of Texas at San Antonio, watches her two younger siblings during her classes. When she watches them, she might have to move offscreen or speak to them while they’re both in the room. The program could flag that activity as suspicious.

“I was ignoring him the entire time, just saying, ‘Please, God, don’t let them email me about the sound,’” as her mic levels spiked onscreen, she said.