this post was submitted on 22 Nov 2025
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Pearson is a testing company. They use all sorts of sketchy shit under the guise of anti-cheating. Much of that requires specific plug-ins and stuff that only work in Windows.
Even if you could get it working, but they'll likely just say you were cheating, and take the $300+ you paid to take that required test.
Pearson using all sorts of extremely invasive and questionable kernel-level access plugins to make sure people don't open notes to cheat on their test on their computer. People just open their notes on another device. Or, you know, paper.
They use massively privacy-invading measures to ensure that you don't do that. I don't know about Pearson specifically, but there are horror stories from the "proctoring" industry about what people have to put up with.
For example: "facial detection, eye tracking, and algorithms that measure βanomaliesβ in metrics like head movement, mouse clicks, and scrolling rates to flag students exhibiting behavior that differs from the class norm" As is widely known, facial detection doesn't work as well for dark-skinned people, and eye and head movement of so-called "normal people" is not fair to people who are not cheating, but not "normal".
And you can't leave your desk because you might have something out of camera sight to help you cheat. Straightforward right? Not really: "A University of Florida student felt forced to vomit at her desk when the proctor threatened to fail her if she left the screen (Harwell, 2020). She vomited at her desk in front of the stranger."
Maybe you can get away with hiding notes on another device or paper, but they try hard to make that impossible. They want to you to get up and show them everything in the room before you start your test. They want to see your hands at all times, and even track your eye movements. If your eyes are always darting to a certain area off screen where you might have notes, they might interrupt your test and demand to be shown what you're looking at. If you look up or off to the side when you're thinking, they're going to demand that you show them what you're looking at too. If you think you can scroll through notes on your phone... maybe. But, they often demand that your hands be visible on-camera at all times.
It's an arms race, and sometimes people do manage to cheat, but when that happens the proctoring companies just implement more and more outrageous surveillance.
You know what would be a really good way to show if your students learned your course material? Let them show it with a practical test of some kind...
My daughter had to write a university paper once. They required two cameras to be running. One atop the screen like you use for meetings, and one showing the whole desk and the tested person.
Redhat would randomly interrupt your test and ask you to stand up, pick up the camera and show the room
Privacy invasion. I doubt that would hold water in the EU.
Also, do we really want to normalize mandatory cameras broadcasting from people's homes? Where's the outrage?
That was in the EU
In the UK I refused to turn my camera on in online class and cited GDPR. The next class the lecturer informed us that he can't force us to do it anymore due to GDPR. Lol.
It's really useless too. If I wanted to cheat on a test so fucking bad, I'd learn to read braille and just stick reference material under my desk.
Iβd clone my monitor to a second monitor in another room and then use an AirPod or something similar to communicate with someone searching for the answers using the second screen and a second device.
When I did those tests, checking your ears was a required step. Plenty of other subtle ways to communicate though
Did you say vibrating butt plug?
There was an actual person that went through a checklist when I had to do my online stuff. They would look at graphics settings and things like xbox bars and such. I guess some people can get really creative. It was irritating having to have a 'clean' account so they wouldn't get access to anything that I wanted private.
Easy enough to put notes or a phone on the backside of your monitor. Pearson doesn't check there during their room scans
Source: Took dozens of exams through them
Mine had an external webcam that had to be purchased, and you had to have the laptop webcam on. It was ridiculous.
Thats not necessary for online teaching. I just got my degree and there were some online courses too, never had to deal with any of this anti cheating crap.
We just have open book exams, problem solved
When my wife did her online courses, she actually had to set up a webcam showing her face and hands while she did the tests.
But not the cheat sheet post-it notes she could have put all around her computer screen
They actually made her set it up so it shows her hands, face and screen at the same time.
It was a bitch to even find an angle to set it up, and then she got yelled at every time she leaned back too far.
This is some dystopian shit. I never cheated at a test and wouldn't even want to take a test under those dehumanizing conditions.
Just have her wear some AirPods, and read to her the notes. GG
The only solution for that is to proctor exams in person on their equipment. Miss me with all that nonsense. Makes me glad I'm done with schoolin' for now...
Oh Pearson definitely does thst as well. But not everyone lives near or has reliable transit to a testing facility. Online testing is essentially a requirement for those people.
They actually already do that. Many schools will have dedicated exam rooms setup (some are even certified by Pearson) where you empty your pockets before entering, cameras are trained on you while you take the test, recorded for future review if needed, the computer is configured to be locked down to only the test site and there's a test proctor actively monitoring as well.
Honestly just give me a printed packet in a classroom with a teacher watching the test takers any day
Linux will never become relevant on the desktop until its has better spyware support.
All it takes is one class action suit. Wait for it