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Cisco and Pearson VUE Combat Exam Fraud With Global Test Delivery Enhancements
July 2008 by Marc Jacob
Cisco and its global testing provider, Pearson VUE, a business of Pearson, today announced a series of security enhancements that will reinforce the integrity and value of the Cisco certification portfolio.
The advanced security enhancements include the use of digital photographs for candidate-identity verification and forensic analysis of testing data. The new measures, to be implemented beginning on Aug. 1, will include :
– Photo on Score Report and Web — On completion of a certification exam
at the test center, candidates will receive preliminary score reports
imprinted with their photos and unique authentication codes. The
authentication code can be used to access a candidate’s official score
online at Pearson VUE’s website www.pearsonvue.com/authenticate usually
within 72 hours of the examination. The online score report will also
display the candidate’s photo. Candidates may share access to their online
records with employers or other third parties.
– Forensic Analysis — Exam results and other testing data will be
continuously analyzed by forensic software to detect aberrant testing
behavior and to flag suspect exams for further investigation. When problems
are identified with the validity of a test result, the candidate’s score
will be invalidated. Depending on the exact issue with the flagged exam,
further consequences may range from having to retake the exam to the
imposition of a one-year or lifetime testing ban.
– Preliminary Score Report — All paper score reports will be
preliminary, pending the results of forensic analysis, until official exam
scores are posted to the Web within 72 hours of exam completion. Once the
exam scores are official, candidates may use the authentication codes on
their score reports to access the Pearson VUE website for score and photo
verification.
These new exam security measures are part of Cisco’s overall strategy to protect the value and integrity of its certifications. Other measures include simulation-based testing, dynamically generated questions and emulations to help ensure that Cisco certified networking professionals continue to have the knowledge, skills and credentials to perform well on the job.
