August 2001 — Features
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New Aspects of Test Security
Increasingly, standardized examinations are being used to measure the performance of both students and schools. However important these tests may be, the more routine teacher-designed, teacher-administered examinations may be better for early detection of student and curriculum deficiencies. But if routine examinations are good measures of performance and good detectors of weaknesses, then the confidentiality of these tests must be as good as that of the standardized exams.
Before computer generation of exams, "lock and key" was the usual method for maintaining the security of tests from development through storage. Additional procedures were in place if tests were typed or copied by a secretary. But have you ever considered the new ways in which your tests are vulnerable to unauthorized access if you store your test files on an office or home computer?
In an attempt to determine how much educators know about the security of their test files, we conducted a survey of collegiate educators. You can test your knowledge of file security by answering the survey questions, and comparing your results with our explanations and the survey responses.
Test Your Knowledge of File Security
In responding to the following statements with "yes," "no" or "don't know," assume the operating system used by the computer is Microsoft Windows 95 or 98.
1. If a test file is deleted from a computer, it is permanently
erased and cannot be retrieved.
2. If a test file is deleted from a computer and the recycle bin is
emptied, the file is permanently erased and cannot be retrieved.
3. Test files are secure at all times on an office computer if it is
not connected to a network and if the test files are
password-protected.
4. If the Internet is accessed and test files are password-protected,
they are secure.
5. Test files on a networked office computer are always secure if
they are password-protected.
6. Test files on a home computer networked to another home computer
are secure if they are password-protected.
7. Test files on a Web page, such as Blackboard, are secure.
Answers and Survey Responses
If you answered "yes" or "don't know" to any of the survey questions, you may be living under a false illusion of security. The following explanations spell out some of the more important issues surrounding file security, while Table 1 shows the results of the survey, which had a 52.5% response rate.
1. If a test file is deleted from a computer, it is permanently erased and cannot be retrieved. No.
When you delete a file in the Windows 95 or 98 operating system, that file g'es into the recycle bin. If you do not delete the file from the recycle bin, it is still on the hard drive. It would be easy for anyone with access to your computer to copy a test file from the recycle bin onto a floppy without your knowledge.
2. If a test file is deleted from a computer and the recycle bin is emptied, the file is permanently erased and cannot be retrieved. No.
