Picture this, you’ve got hundreds of students ready for a big assessment. How do you make sure everyone plays by the same rules? So you ask, what does proctored exam mean? In simple terms, a proctored exam involves oversight from a live or automated proctor who verifies identities, monitors behavior, and helps maintain fairness.
By the end of this guide, you’ll understand different proctoring methods, how to set them up, and best practices to keep academic integrity high.
Proctoring exists to protect test integrity. It helps you confirm each student follows the rules, prevents cheating, and ensures scores truly reflect ability.
At its core, exam oversight includes:
These steps reduce risk and give you confidence in your results.
When you choose on-site supervision, you bring students to a controlled location. A physical proctor watches test-takers in real time. For a deeper look at logistics and checklists, see our guide to in person proctored exam.
Online oversight lets students test from anywhere while you monitor via webcam. You’ll decide between live human review or automated alerts.
If your audience prefers testing from home, you can set up a home proctored exam. You’ll still verify identity and scan the environment, but students stay in their own space.
Sometimes you might opt for a low-stakes format without supervision. Learn more about non proctored exam options, like open-book quizzes or project-based assessments.
Lock down browsers, disable copy-paste, and limit access to other applications.
Implement screen-recording, keystroke analysis, or IP whitelisting to catch anomalies.
Review flagged incidents promptly, reach out to students if there’s a question, and document any integrity breaches.
