Beating cheating

By The Economist online

Computer analysis of test-takers' answers to standarised tests is revealing cheats

TO SAY that cheats never prosper is to elevate hope over experience. Modern technology, in the form of miniature cameras, smart phones and the internet, means stealing answers and sharing them has never been easier. Indeed, the problem has got so bad that, on March 1st, the Japanese government asked the country's universities to ban mobile phones from the rooms they use to conduct their entrance exams. Nor are students the only cheats. Teachers, whose salaries often depend on the success of their charges, are not above dropping the odd hint about what is the right answer before or during a test—or even correcting test papers after the event. And the invigilators who police the actual exam are not always immune to bribery, either. Conversely, however, technology allows cheats to be detected more easily than before. An arms race has thus developed between cheats and exam setters.