AI Cheat Detection

The Problem

ReadnQuiz runs in a browser, like almost all cloud-based academic programs. And today, every browser has a feature that will analyze the webpage and assist you in understanding it. Unfortunately, this means the AI can help students answer quiz questions with just a click on the “Ask AI” button.

A browser's Ask AI button answering a quiz question

How ReadnQuiz Combats This

When a student clicks outside the quiz to “Ask AI” …

  1. The question is blanked and replaced with a warning screen. This denies the AI access to the question.
  2. The student cannot copy the question text and paste it. They are forced to memorize it and type it into the prompt along with the book title.
  3. The student is warned twice not to leave the quiz window and told that cheating will be reported to the teacher.
  4. Once past the warnings, the cheating is logged and referred to the teacher, who can then FAIL the quiz with a click.

Fast learners will heed the first warning. Slow learners will eventually realize that cheating doesn’t actually result in a passed quiz.

This feature is comprehensive. It is not aimed only at one tool, such as the AI Assistant. Any change of focus away from the quiz is detected — clicking another browser tab, a browser menu item, or switching to a different window or app. While taking a quiz, the student is expected to stay on the quiz window.

How the Warnings Work

The first two times a student leaves the quiz window, they see an on-screen warning that explains what not to do. These first two strikes are a courtesy — they are not recorded.

On the third strike, the incident is logged.

The three warning screens: the first warning, the second warning, and the third strike, which is logged

The strikes are permanent — they do not reset for each new quiz. The two warnings are a one-time learning opportunity that carries across all of a student’s quizzes.

It Is a Setting You Can Turn Off

AI Cheat Detection is a setting, and it is on by default for the School and Classroom Editions. We are not aware of any reason a student would need other tools while taking a quiz, but we understand there may be exceptions. You can turn the detection off whenever it makes sense.

To turn it off for a single student:

  1. Click the student to open their account.
  2. Click Settings.
  3. Set Detect AI Cheating to No.
  4. Click Save.

To turn it off for an entire class:

  1. Go to Manage Classes.
  2. Click the class name.
  3. Set Detect AI Cheating to No.
  4. Click Save.

Younger Students

If you have younger students, you may want to turn this off. Young children are more likely to click outside the quiz window by accident, and they are usually not a cheating risk.

How to Resolve

If there were possible AI cheating events for a quiz, you will see a warning icon (⚠) next to the quiz in your list of quizzes. Click the quiz to resolve it.

On the Quiz Management page, you will see a “Possible AI Cheating” box. You have two options:

  1. “Clear” removes the AI cheating warning from the quiz. Use this when you have asked the student and received a legitimate reason why they strayed from the quiz.
  2. “Fail” sets the quiz to Failed and removes any remaining retakes. Any Q Bucks earned are given back.

Questions? Contact Us