Cisco and Pearson VUE Implement Biometric and
Forensic Security for Certification Exams
By
Rick Gregory
Cisco and Pearson VUE this week announced the global rollout of two elements of an, enhanced certification exam security program. Beginning August 1, a digital photo of all candidates will be permanently associated with the exam record and all exams will be subject to an intensive data forensics program to detect aberrant testing behavior.
"Keeping the integrity of our certifications at the highest level is very important to Cisco," said Fred Weiller, Director of Marketing for Learning@Cisco, "so we continue to add measures that improve the security of the exam process."
First announced last December, the new procedures have been the subject of a pilot program conducted in representative areas worldwide to judge their effectiveness.
"The pilot met our expectations," said Weiller. "We are pleased with the results and we are now ready for a global rollout."
Requiring a digital photo of each exam candidate is designed to prevent proxy testing, in which someone registers as another individual and takes the exam under his name. Each candidate for a Cisco certification exam will be asked to sit for a digital photograph before taking the exam. If he refuses, he will not be allowed to test.
Upon completion of a certification exam, each candidate will receive a printed preliminary score report with his photo and a unique authentication code. He can use the authentication code to access the official score report online at Pearson VUE's website.
The official score report is usually posted on the Pearson VUE site within 72 hours and also displays the candidate's photo. Candidates may share access to their online records with employers and other third parties at their discretion.
"We looked at alternatives for addressing the issue of proxy testing, the two primary victims of which are employers and those members of the certification community who chose training, hard work and experience as their path to certification," explained Randall Trask, vice president of market development for Pearson VUE.
"We decided to use photos because they are easy to deal with," said Weiller. "In considering biometrics, we could have used fingerprints or retinal scans, but that would make it more difficult for employers. With a photo, anyone can look at the photo and look at the candidate and say, "Ok, you're the same person.'"
All paper score reports will be preliminary pending the results of a forensic analysis of the exam.
"Cisco certifications are one of the most highly valued credentials available to IT professionals, and protecting that reputation is paramount," said Erik Ullanderson, manager of global certifications for Learning@Cisco. "The data forensics give us another layer of security to protect our certifications."
During a Cisco certification exam, each keystroke is logged and a record is created that includes the time spent on each question, whether answers were changed, how much time as spent on the second answer, how long the candidate took to complete the exam, and hundreds of other data points. The forensic analysis program analyzes the data points for aberrant testing behavior and flags suspect exams for investigation.
Flagged exams are analyzed by a psycometrician. If problems are identified with the validity of a test result, the candidate's score is invalidated. Consequences may range from a candidate having to retake the exam to validate results, to a one year or even a lifetime testing ban, determined by the exact issue with the flagged exam.
"The way it's been designed, if you didn't cheat, you can have confidence that your results will hold," said Ullanderson. "And that's what the goal is, it's not about busting people who've cheated, it's about protecting the value of the certification for those who achieved it in the way they were supposed to."
"Cisco invests a lot of effort and money in our certification programs," said Weiller. "They are valuable to the candidates and to the people who perform the jobs of designing, implementing and operating networks every day. And for employers, it's a label of quality that helps them build reliable networks to run their businesses on. The certifications exist because they serve our customers and that's why the integrity of Cisco's certification programs are so important."
© 2008 Bluestone Media, LLC
