Emerging Technology Use in Test Delivery Software and Remote Proctoring | Enhanced User Experience and Security in Online Skills Assessment

Online testing is an industry that’s been steadily growing for decades to help large and small companies meet their professional certification needs and Gauge has been at it for nearly thirty years. While that growth has progressed naturally in response to companies recognizing the many benefits of utilizing online employment assessment tools, the start of the Covid-19 pandemic emphasized the urgent need for custom, flexible, affordable, and secure online testing solutions across all industries.

Continuing lockdowns changed the landscape for working, learning, assessment, and certification in businesses, organizations, governments, and education around the world. The need to keep employees as safe as possible while continuing to assess skills and certify for technical knowledge and abilities has pushed untold numbers of training and certification managers to pivot to online learning and testing. This massive influx of users has shone a light on the importance of using technologies that enhance the adaptability and security of employment assessment tools.

The technologies outlined here will help you whether you’re searching for the perfect test delivery software to handle your unique online testing and professional certification needs or want to have a better understanding of how the software you already use works to give you better flexibility and security.

Online Testing Technology for User-Experience

These technology integrations enhance the online testing experience for both the test taker and the assessment manager in charge of populating the platform with learning content, test questions, communications, and user information.

Adaptive Professional Certification

While there is a desire to recreate the in-person test center model in an online environment, online test delivery software platforms like Gauge can use existing technologies to further adapt the learning and assessment process to the unique needs of the individual test-takers. Adaptive software lets you build learning modules using the digital features people expect to experience online, such as audio, video, photos, and infographics.

Combined with the ability to create multi-stage tests that progress according to the test taker’s ability and deliver unique phrased questions for each section lets you get a more accurate measure of aptitude on a common scale. This type of testing design helps test-takers feel more secure in the material and helps eliminate bias.

Streamlined Communication

More software companies are following in Gauge’s footsteps and integrating communication channels like In-app messaging and the ability to email users and automate message funnels from directly within the platform. Testing managers can easily set up messages and emails to notify users about registration, training materials, learning progress, and test scheduling, as well as deliver results and certificates.

Systems Integration

More online test and exam delivery software platforms are beginning to integrate third-party software to help companies streamline professional certification programs. By enabling access to your customer relationship management (CRM) software, learning management software (LMS), payment products such as PayPal, Square, or Stripe, and digital and live proctoring services, your testing software becomes a one-stop shop. Gauge integrates with payment products and offers APIs that let you integrate with other software. By allowing platforms to talk to one another, you can capture more data for decision making and integrate your people into your assessment program seamlessly.

Online Testing Technology for Cheat Prevention and Security

Another urgent focus for online test delivery software platform development is how to best incorporate existing technological solutions to ensure the security and integrity of assessment content, processes, results, and data.

Secure Browsers

Some online test delivery software platforms provide a locked down browser that allows the test taker to only have one open tab – the one the exam is loaded in. Gauge can be set to force users to take a test in a secure browser, but we also encourage our users to take advantage of the ability to randomize both questions and possible answers and to only allow for moving forward, never backward. A timer setting can guide the test taker through the content so they don’t have time to screenshot questions and locking the test down and hiding the questions so it can’t be taken again after passing, further securing the integrity of your test.

Remote Proctoring

Online proctoring software integration allows you to capture images, audio, and video recording or live-stream the test taker. Monitoring can happen in the moment with a human on the other side of the camera or after the fact by you or by an individual associated with the remote proctoring service to watch for behaviors that might indicate cheating such as looking away from the screen repeatedly. This helps prevent test takers from using additional devices, other people, or notes to help answer questions.

Increased Online Test Automation

A growing number of test managers demand the ability to develop exams that automatically deliver a unique version of the exam to each test taker, pulling questions from a bank on each user’s computer. This Linear on-the-fly (LOFT) testing method is a blend of fixed-form delivery and computerized adaptive, or tailored testing. Many online test delivery software platforms have incorporated this technology for years to add another layer of security to the system and make it even more difficult for users to pass the questions on to others who will take the test later. This added security is imperative when testing large numbers of people for the same material.

IP Authentication

By giving testing managers the ability to limit the access and operation of the testing program to a set number of IP addresses, testing platforms help ensure a secure exam environment. Users can be set up with different levels of access tied to IP authentication so you can make everyone’s role clear within the system.

Data encryption

Online test delivery software platforms utilize data encryption to prevent unauthorized access to your proprietary question banks. Encryption also protects your organization from data manipulation by ensuring only credentialed people have access.

Audit Logging

More platforms are beginning to integrate audit logging to keep track and record the test taker’s activities throughout the entire funnel of their system interactions. It will make note of all logins, logouts, registration, learning module and test access, test navigation and responses, section changes, and even internet speed. Geotagging will also help track the exact location of the tester taker when they sit for the exam. This provides more useful data for your decision making.

Remote work is here to stay, so it follows that remote learning and online testing will continue to evolve and be adopted by companies, governments, organizations, and learning institutions. As we all learn how to navigate the new landscape created by the COVID-19 pandemic, online test delivery software platforms continue to listen to your needs and develop and integrate technologies into user-friendly, adaptable, and secure employment assessment tools that help make your job easier and your company perform better.

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If your certification program is running on tools that were never built for it — and you’re starting to feel the friction in your daily operations — Gauge was designed for exactly this situation. It handles the full exam lifecycle for professional credentialing programs, from item banking through results and credential issuance, without requiring you to stitch together separate systems.