Cambridge Assessment's Story: Empowering 
Learners Globally

Introduction

Linguaskill is an English proficiency test offered by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. It is a quick and convenient online test to help organizations check the English levels of individuals and groups of candidates, powered by Artificial Intelligence technology. It is distributed through a network of authorized agents who run and administer the test.

In response to the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, educational institutions faced the urgent need to transition from traditional exam formats to online exams with remote proctoring.

Cambridge, was also among those grappling with the necessity of adopting a reliable and secure online proctoring platform for their Linguaskill assessment.

Challenges

Cambridge was severely impacted by the pandemic, which necessitated a rapid transition from in-person exams to remote exams with proctoring. The challenges they encountered included:

• Urgent Adoption: They needed to identify and implement on efficient remote proctoring solution quickly to continue their language proficiency exams during the pandemic. 

• Candidate Experience: Ensuring a seamless and user-friendly experience for candidates was a primary concern. They wanted to maintain their reputation for delivering on-demand tests while avoiding any hindrance in the examination process. 

• Security and Data Privacy: Cambridge had to address concerns surrounding the security and privacy of candidate data during the remote proctoring process. Compliance with GDPR regulations was essential. 

• Cultural and Technological Differences: As Cambridge University Press operates globally, different cultural perceptions and technological disparities added complexity to the implementation of a universal proctoring solution.

Selection Criteria

When evaluating potential providers for online proctoring, Cambridge prioritized the following criteria:

• Candidate Experience: The selected solution had to offer a seamless and user-friendly experience for candidates without the need for additional software installations.

• Security and Privacy Compliance: Ensuring the security and privacy of candidate data was paramount. A provider who adhered to GDPR regulations and implemented robust data security measures was essential.

• Affordability and Usability: The chosen solution needed to strike a balance between cost-effectiveness and practicality, meeting both their budgetary constraints and the usability needs of candidates.

Talview Solutions and Benefits

After careful consideration, Cambridge selected Talview as their preferred online proctoring provider. The following features and benefits were instrumental in addressing their challenges:

• Seamless Experience: Talview's platform seamlessly transitioned candidates from the proctoring system to their test system, ensuring on uninterrupted examination process, and upholding Cambridge's commitment to on-demand testing.

• User-Friendly Interface: The user-friendly interface ensured that candidates could easily navigate the examination process without additional software installations from any device including mobile phones, thus enhancing overall candidate experience.

• Security and Data Privacy: Talview prioritized the security of candidate data and maintained GDPR compliance, easing Cambridge's privacy concerns and establishing trust with candidates.

• Cultural Adaptability: The ability to adopt to various cultural contexts and accommodate different levels of understanding about remote proctoring proved valuable in the proctoring implementation across diverse locations. The administration interface was translated into Japanese to accommodate local market preferences.

• Responsive to Feedback: Talview demonstrated a proactive approach by promptly incorporating feedback from Cambridge, ensuring thot the platform continually improved and aligned with the institution's needs.

Results and Future Prospects

The successful implementation of Talview's solutions resulted in several positive outcomes for Cambridge:

• High Candidate Satisfaction: Despite initial reservations from some candidates, the successful strategy was evidenced by over 5000 candidates using the solution, with a high satisfaction rate. This validated the effectiveness of Talview's user-friendly approach.

• Improved Scalability and Accessibility: A pivotal facet of the program's scalability was the extensive collaboration with more than 200 Cambridge agents worldwide, spanning regions from Japan to India, the Middle East, Latin America, South America, and Europe. This comprehensive reach underscored a truly global implementation, reflecting the program's commitment to inclusivity and accessibility on a worldwide scale. The administrative interface was also translated into Japanese to accommodate local market preferences.

• Expanded Business Opportunities: Cambridge recognized remote proctoring not merely as a response to the pandemic but as a catalyst for expanding their business. With Talview's support, they were able to offer exams on o national and international scale, extending their reach and impact. The integrations were up and running in a day and over 100 different agents from different ports of the world have signed up for using Talview as their preferred remote proctoring partner and is using the service for any remote invigilation needs.

Conclusion

Cambridge's partnership with Talview for Linguaskill proved instrumental in successfully transitioning from traditional in-person exams to virtual assessments with remote proctoring. Talview's solutions addressed the challenges of urgent adoption, candidate experience, security, and cultural differences. By providing a seamless and user-friendly experience, ensuring data privacy, and accommodating various cultural contexts, Talview empowered Cambridge to continue delivering high-quality Linguakill exams during the pandemic.