# 5 Remote Proctoring Techniques for Your Education Center | Capterra > Learn about the advantages of remote proctoring and how it can benefit your education system. Our guide covers recent remote proctoring techniques that preserve academic integrity. Source: https://www.capterra.com/resources/what-is-remote-proctoring --- Education & Learning # 5 Remote Proctoring Techniques for Your Education Center By Adam Carpenter Adam Carpenter Adam Carpenter is a writer specializing in tech, fintech, and marketing topics for small businesses. He is a frequent contributor to Capterra. [See bio & all articles](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/acarpenter/) Published February 27, 2023 7 min read ## Learn about the advantages of remote proctoring and how it can benefit your education system. Owners and operational managers of schools, training centers, and certifying institutes often have to perform a difficult balancing act. They want to offer remote learning and testing opportunities, and also ensure that students are who they say they are and aren't cheating. Remote proctoring allows administrators to provide a mix of convenience, security, and accountability to remote testing. Here’s a description of five techniques you can use so you can determine the best solution for your situation. ## What is remote proctoring? Remote proctoring refers to services that allow administrators to verify the identities of students or people taking exams remotely before they sit for an assessment. Remote proctoring also gives admins tools to ensure that exam takers aren’t cheating by, for example, getting help from someone who’s not authorized to do so. Remote proctoring works by using a range of identification tools, such as biometric and video-based technologies.  For educational institutions, remote proctoring removes the walls that have defined the traditional testing space. Students can sit for exams from a remote location without gaining an unfair advantage. This ensures that student scores are comparable regardless of where they are while taking an assessment. The sense of equity that comes with remote proctoring benefits a range of institutions and organizations, including: - Schools and teaching facilities. - Certifying bodies and professional associations. - Organizations that want to affirm which of their members have completed the necessary training. - Governments and corporations that need to assess candidates as part of the hiring process. ## 5 popular remote proctoring techniques Here are some of the more popular remote proctoring strategies that organizations have found to be effective: ### 1\. Authentication tools to check the student’s identity Authentication tools can ensure that when people present identification, they’re being honest. Making sure the person sitting for an examination or interview is who they say they are is at the top of the list of challenges that admins have to tackle. In a remote situation, the issue is exacerbated because the lack of in-person contact with an exam administrator may embolden students and test-takers. But by using remote authentication tools, you can prevent fraudsters from exploiting a remote assessment system. Some common authentication tools include: - Face recognition software - Knuckle biometrics - Voiceprints - Challenge questions - Signature biometrics - Keystroke biometrics For instance, test-takers can present their official ID to a webcam, which can feed the image to a facial recognition program. The program can then compare the face it’s being presented with that of the student, both live and using preexisting pictures or databases of people’s identities. **Pros:** - Authentication tools can be very accurate, removing some of the guesswork when it comes to ensuring test-takers are who they say they are. - Authentication systems are fast and require very little human intervention. **Cons:** - An authentication system only verifies the identity of the test-taker, not whether they’re cheating during the exam. - Fraudulent test-takers may be able to provide some authentication info to an imposter, such as the answers to challenge questions. ### 2\. Locked-down browsers A locked-down browser works by preventing exam takers from visiting other websites while taking an assessment. This method can also detect if other applications are open on the computer. This is one of the lowest-level solutions, and it can be inexpensive or even free because there are open source versions in the market. By using locked-down browsers, admins of low-stakes tests get an extra level of protection against test-takers using the internet to gain an advantage during an exam. This relieves some of the burden resting on the shoulders of proctors—remote or in-person—because they don’t have to check the screens of each test-taker to see if they’re using the internet to get answers. **Pros:** - Locked-down browsers are inexpensive and easy to incorporate into your testing infrastructure. - They are a fool-proof way of preventing students from using their test computer to check other websites. **Cons:** - Students can still use the internet on their phones or other devices. - There may be legitimate websites the student would like to visit that wouldn’t constitute cheating. For instance, they may be waiting for an important email or message. ### 3\. Live remote proctoring tools With live remote proctoring tools, a human proctor observes the person taking the assessment with a webcam and a microphone. The test-taker and the proctor set up a time for the exam, and the proctor observes the student as they take the assessment. If the proctor notices anything suspicious, they make a note. The proctor may also speak to the test-taker if they feel the need to provide any reminders or adjust the student’s behavior. If the student appears to be cheating or is out of compliance with examination rules, the remote proctor can stop the test. **Pros:** - A human observer watching live can detect even nuanced anomalies in the test-taker’s behavior. - Instead of automatically canceling the test session as an AI would, a human proctor can discern between true cheating and what may simply appear to be cheating. **Cons:** - This system depends on the proctor being very observant for the entire test session. - Humans tend to be good at outsmarting other humans, so removing AI from the equation could increase the chances of cheating. ### 4\. Automated and record-and-review remote proctoring Record-and-review proctoring involves recording the examinee as they take the test and studying the recording for suspicious behavior after the exam is finished. At times, admins incorporate AI into the system by having the AI flag any suspicious behavior as it reviews the recording. Then the human proctors that check the recording already have a starting point when trying to identify non-compliant activity. A fully automated system is another option. AI monitors the person taking the assessment, looking for suspicious behavior or instances of the student violating policy, and then provides the student with cues to discourage cheating. With an automated system, an institution can set up rules that automatically end the exam if the AI identifies illicit behavior above a certain threshold. For example, if a student were to violate guidelines two times during the test, the AI could cancel the testing session. **Pros:** - You get to take your time while observing the test-taker’s behavior on your own schedule. - Whether the solution is fully human- or AI-powered, you get the chance to observe many details at once, as well as rewind and double-check things that seem suspicious. **Cons:** - Record-and-review is time-consuming. - A person could miss something, or an AI system could provide false, misleading flags. ### 5\. Assessment tools with integrated proctoring An integrated proctoring solution involves using more than one of the above tools, and some companies can offer multiple options in a single package. For example, a certification program could use both AI-powered automated proctoring and a locked-down browser. **Pros:** - More options when it comes to how to monitor test-takers. - An all-in-one solution can provide a “one-and-done” remote proctoring strategy. **Cons:** - Integrated proctoring tools can be expensive. - You may end up purchasing solutions that you don’t need. ## The future of remote proctoring The future of remote proctoring promises to integrate high-tech solutions to make it even easier to manage testing environments. **Artificial intelligence/machine learning:** Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) will continue to advance, which may make it easier for facial and other biometric identification systems to provide a secure assessment environment. Also, as ML systems get better at recognizing behavior patterns, they may be able to make better judgments regarding what is cheating and what is not. **Technology detection of hidden devices:** As technology advances, it may be easier for remote proctoring systems to detect the presence of cheating devices, such as phones and tablets. Tech tools may also be able to monitor the internet activity of a test-taker, regardless of which device they’re using. Key recommendations for optimizing remote proctoring tech If you are charged with creating secure remote testing environments, it's important to: - Apply the lessons gleaned during the pandemic and limit remote proctoring to only when it’s absolutely necessary. - Rethink how you identify cheating behavior and the measures you take to check what students are doing. Some methods, such as 360-degree scans of the room, may intrude on test-takers’ privacy. And an AI tool may falsely identify cheating behavior. - Protect the security of test-takers’ data by ensuring the data you collect is stored securely. Also, be sure sensitive data doesn’t get shared with third parties. - Prepare accommodations for people with disabilities by making sure you have tools that ensure accessibility. It’s a good idea to have a backup plan, such as monitoring through a webcam or using a collaboration tool to help test-takers who need other accommodations. If you're ready to invest in a proctoring tool, check out Capterra's [proctoring software buyer's guide](https://www.capterra.com/proctoring-software/#buyers-guide-content), which will help you choose the tool best-suited for your organization and needs. ## Capterra's 2026 Software Buying Trends Report ### Download our 2026 Software Buying Trends Report to see how successful software adopters avoid disappointment and how your business can, too. * * * Looking for Proctoring software?Check out Capterra's list of the [best Proctoring software](https://www.capterra.com/proctoring-software/) solutions. ### Was this article helpful? * * * ## About the Author [### Adam Carpenter](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/acarpenter/) Adam Carpenter is a writer specializing in tech, fintech, and marketing topics for small businesses. 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