New Vue security measures???

mikearama

You guys read about this?

From the email:

"
Cisco and its global testing provider, Pearson VUE, a business of Pearson Inc. are pleased to announce a series of security enhancements that will reinforce the integrity and value of its Career certification program.

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 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.


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 usually 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.

To find out more about Cisco Career Certifications access the Cisco Learning Network at www.cisco.com/go/learnnetspace.
"

I like the picture idea... and sharing it with potential employers? Nice touch.

Forensic Analysis? Seriously?

So if I got this right... I get a paper score report immediately after passing/failing, but that's a "pending" result until the official score is posted, AFTER forensic examination?

So if this software suspects that I displayed "aberrant testing behavior", the score can be adjusted... I assume only downward, right? Or do ya think it's possible that the score could be adjusted upward!?!?!?! HAH... wouldn't that be funny.

I know this is a measure to stop dumpers/cheaters, but I suspect that someone who really knows there stuff and/or studied their behind off, could possibly emulate the speedy actions of someone who dumped... only to get flagged, and investigated. Going one step further, the only possible outcome of an investigation, other than nothing happening, is getting flunked.

Should be interesting to see this unfold. Can't wait to see who the first loser is who gets their passing score rescinded. Sure hope it's a cheater.

Hey, I might need to **** a future exam, just to see if I can get investigated.

waltdee

i think so, but not sure

dynamik

I doubt this is going to affect any legitimate test takers. They're probably looking for people failing the same test multiple times, always getting near perfect scores (Oh no! Look out Boz! :shock), etc.

All I know is that I'm going to be picking up an eye patch before my exam. That's going to look so BA on my score report

mikearama

dynamik wrote:

All I know is that I'm going to be picking up an eye patch before my exam. That's going to look so BA on my score report

You're going to leave the makeup on, though, right? Cause you're damn right... an eye patch, along with the lipstick and rouge, will look so BA!!! Oh, and eye-liner on your one good eye!

jayman47

They took my picture a few months back.Wish i had known before because i wouldn't have settled with an eyepatch.A paper bag would have been more fitting for me I just checked my history at Vue and my last test 3weeks ago and my first test late last summer on my CCSP track are not there.They are registered with Cisco and i have the diplomas and all.Not a cheater but i jumped very fast through the last ten multiple choice questions on my last test since i felt it was going extremly bad.I gave up,but i made it to my big surprise.

tiersten

Usually they mean software that compares your answers against everybody else in the group and known ****. If you make exactly the same set of mistakes as a **** then its pretty likely that something is wrong.

It won't adjust your score up or down. If it thinks you're cheating and a human backs up that suspicion then your entire test is going to be voided.

Paul Boz

dynamik wrote:

always getting near perfect scores (Oh no! Look out Boz! :shock), etc.

I chuckled at this. I've been called a cheater my whole life. High school, college, professionally. If you make good grades or score high on exams people would rather assume you're a cheater than give you the benefit of the doubt that you actually know the material and earned the grades.

This whole "forensic evaluation" stuff is junk. Lets assume it analyzes time spent on a test. Time per question, time on sims, time on drag/drops, time on scenarios. Now lets assume that it checks to see how quickly someone works through their questions. If the person is extremely proficient with the technology the computer may flag them as a cheater for flying through the exam. I took the QoS exam in exactly 26 minutes. Would they dare call me a cheater because I simply studied my butt off?

jayman47

I agree totaly Paul Boz.When i went to school in 2002 for the MCSE 2000 exams i did great.One of my classmates who failed seven times on the 70-216 said several times on different exams that i got easier questions than him.

astorrs

The focus on the analytics isn't on speed of completing the exam; like dynamik said, its about grouping people together based on wrong answers, known ****, multiple people at the same facility getting "the same results", etc.

mikej412

I'm still waiting to see if they have a solution for the corrupt exam centers. What's their solution to video splinters and recording the exam sessions? What's their solution to cutting the supply of ****.

The photo thing just adds costs to the test centers -- but isn't that annoying for legitimate exam takers. But unless they have a "closed hardware system" -- what prevents a corrupt exam center from accepting photos via email/website? And my electronic signatures with UPS and electronic checkout systems always looks like chicken scratching compared to my real signature.

I've seen people come in, take their exam, and leave in 15-20 minutes. But one guy was a CCIE taking an A+ exam -- so I don't think he was cheating. Now the one guy taking 3 or 4 Citrix exams in one day sitting in the parking lot between exams reading **** probably was cheating.

I can see their forensic software catching innocent people. And I doubt they are going to maintain a database of known **** and wrong answers -- so a lot of cheaters will still get by.

I still think the best solution is good hiring practices. 50-60% of the CCNAs that had their resume pulled from the pile still couldn't make it through a simple phone interview (whether they had experience on their resume or not). And about 80% of the CCNPs with NO EXPERIENCE couldn't make it past the CCNA phone interview

montanablue2

I think if they flag your exam they mentioned they'll give you a chance to take the test again with questions that aren't compromised.
So they won't just label you as a cheater without giving you a chance to prove you're not.

mikej412

montanablue2 wrote:

I think if they flag your exam they mentioned they'll give you a chance to take the test again with questions that aren't compromised.

They've had the option all along of creating a large changing pool of questions -- or creating "dynamic" SIMs -- but they haven't done that. If they were already adding 40-50 new questions each month then most of the exam wouldn't already be compromised.

Where would they administer the "uncompromised" "prove you didn't **** exam?" What is their plan to insure that exam isn't compromised?

Some people think having a Certificate is a magic ticket to a job -- but it's really having, and being able to demonstrate, the knowledge and skills that the certificate says you should have.

networker050184

Cisco wants as many people certified as possible, and adding very strict security measures might scare away a lot of people. This would mean less money for Cisco not only in certification revenue but also because certified people are more likely to choose Cisco equipment over competitors. The more people that get certified the better for Cisco all around. It is still a business after all....

Professionals should have the integrity to take these exams with out cheating and as long as there are exams there will be people finding a way to ****.

dtlokee

I see it like the "Police use radar" statement hoping they'll scare a few people out of using ****.

I always thought they should make up a pool of bogus questions that don't count and distribute one unique question to each test center for each exam. Then when they see those questions showing up in the **** they can shut those centers down.

mikej412

dtlokee wrote:

I always thought they should make up a pool of bogus questions that don't count and distribute one unique question to each test center for each exam.

That's the obvious solution -- but my guess is that it would still "cost them" to create the unique questions.

But if they did that, and they were actually "good questions" -- then the pool of questions would eventually be too large to ****.

Paul Boz

dtlokee wrote:

I see it like the "Police use radar" statement hoping they'll scare a few people out of using ****.

I always thought they should make up a pool of bogus questions that don't count and distribute one unique question to each test center for each exam. Then when they see those questions showing up in the **** they can shut those centers down.

The exams already have dummy questions for future test development that don't count towards your score. You could get 64/65 right and get a 1000/1000 if you missed a question that isn't counted. Now, the problem with what you're proposing is sheer numbers. There are hundreds if not thousands of testing centers so if they used a unique question for each one they may as well just use dynamic tests with a huge question bank like many colleges use for computer-based testing.

That to me is the obvious solution. They charge $150-$250 per exam and tens of thousands of people take them annually so you'd think they could spend more money to create new questions. The only reason dumpers are successful is because they leave the tests unchanged for like 2-4 years and it's just ludicrous to assume people won't crack the test under those conditions.

dtlokee

Well I was thinking more along the lines of a dynamic question, say one that has code output and it randomly removes one of the required commands and generates the answer choices based on that, or each code example has a random IP address in it or some element that can be written into the exam code.

Knowing how much time and effort goes into each exam question to make it to a live exam (for each exam question you see there are like 4 that didn't make it) it is unrealistic to make huge pools for all exams. One of the exams I took and failed, I went back and retook it 2 months later and the exam was the exact exam I had the first time, that should be fixed.

dynamik

I'm not sure how Cisco does it, but at my VCP course, the instructor said they cycle out 30% of the questions every month. That seems huge. I wonder if they just reintroduce with them with minor variations.

GT-Rob

When I went into write my CCIE written exam, they took my picture, and actually compared it to a picture they took from my last exam, as well as my signatures.


I will say that when I was writing, someone came in to write his CCNA (I saw the exam code on the signout sheet) and was done in about 15mins. He then made a fuss at the end about it not giving him a score, but left before I could hear the details. I am hoping they caught him for cheating.


Finishing fast is one thing, but you can't even read the damn questions that fast. Makes me sick.

dynamik

Think that'll happen to Mike when he gets around to taking his CCENT?