Imagine you’re logging in to a fully automated remote proctoring platform, ready to take your final exam. Your entire grade hinges on your performance. Your webcam is blinking, your screen is locked down, and no instructor is there to help guide you. If your camera freezes or a loud noise erupts nearby, will the proctoring system understand? Will you be flagged for something out of your control?
Now imagine a different scenario: You’re still taking the exam remotely, but there are humans involved in the process. Maybe they greeted you at check-in. Maybe you know they’ll review your session afterward with care and context. Maybe they’re standing by to help if something goes wrong. In any case, you’re not alone—and that makes all the difference. Because when people play a central role in proctoring, the entire testing experience starts to look and feel different.
What Institutions Are Asking About Human-Led Proctoring
When you’re walking the tightrope of test security and student experience, a high-touch, human-centered remote proctoring model offers something that AI-only or pop-in solutions can’t: confidence and trust in the testing process.
Here are three questions we hear most often—and what the data shows.
Does Human Involvement Reduce Academic Integrity Incidents?
When one of our clients switched from a fully automated solution to a human-led model, the number of integrity incidents dropped by 30%. The reason behind that drop isn’t hard to explain, but it can be attributed to two factors. First, the presence of a human is a deterrent in and of itself. In fact, one study found that 70% of students engaged in dishonest behavior during unproctored exams, compared to just 15% when proctoring was in place. Second, when actual people are part of the process, potential violations—like a forgotten phone on the desk, a second monitor that’s still plugged in, or a browser tab left open—are more likely to be caught early and interpreted appropriately.
In live solutions, for example, trained proctors can offer guidance on what is and isn’t allowed before the exam even begins. And in other high-touch methods, human reviewers can help ensure everything is in order during a pre-exam check or assess any integrity concerns afterward with nuance and care. That kind of involvement has a measurable impact: Across all three of our human-led proctoring service lines, 7 in 10 unpermitted resources are identified and addressed before the exam even starts.
Catching those issues early results in:
- A more stable, uninterrupted testing experience
- Fewer unexpected exam pauses or restarts
- Fewer issues that require follow-up or formal investigations
And when fewer incidents are filed, institutions spend less time reviewing footage, managing student complaints, and navigating misconduct fallout. That reduction in noise also makes the issues that truly warrant attention stand out, helping faculty focus their time effectively instead of being flooded with false or low-priority system flags.
What Difference Does Human Presence Make for Students?
Data from one of our clients shows that student satisfaction rose from 62% to 94% within a year of moving from an automated solution to a human-involved proctoring model. That’s a significant shift—and it underscores the difference in student satisfaction between low-cost and high-touch proctoring models. That kind of improvement doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when students feel seen, supported, and respected—not just monitored. Human touchpoints throughout the testing journey help reassure students that there’s someone on the other side who understands the stakes and the stress of exams.
When AI- or pop-in proctoring models are running the show, students are often left worrying that a stretch, a glance, or a momentary pause will be misinterpreted. But in human-led environments, those natural behaviors are more likely to be recognized for what they are: benign, explainable, and unworthy of suspicion.
And if something does go wrong, students aren’t left to fend for themselves. They can get real-time proctoring support when they need it. For example, say a student’s camera fails or their exam freezes. A live proctor can pause the session and guide them through recovery. In some cases, the proctor can call in a technician or specialist. Even if a live proctoring model isn’t being used, the student still benefits from knowing a real person will review what happened and they won’t be judged by software alone. The result is a calmer, more confident test-taker—and a proctoring experience that feels more human, more fair, and more trustworthy.
“You don’t build test-taker trust with flags—you build it with empathy and expertise. Human-centered proctoring gives you that, along with the ability to verify and validate what happens during a session.”
—Steve Morgan, SVP of Proctor Operations, Meazure Learning
Is Exam Integrity at Risk Without Human Review?
Third-party research found that students are 73% less likely to cheat when there’s a real risk of being caught. When students know their actions will be reviewed by an actual person, they’re more likely to take the exam seriously and engage honestly. The stakes feel real. The standards feel clear. And the message from the institution is unmistakable: what happens during an exam matters. It’s an effective deterrent for dishonest students—and a reassuring signal for honest ones.
However, there’s a second layer of exam integrity that matters just as much as deterrence: how incidents are flagged and responded to. In AI- or pop-in proctoring models, up to 30% of generated flags are false positives, triggered by something as simple as background noise or poor lighting. The kicker, though, is that most of those flags are never reviewed afterward. In fact, research shows that only 10% are actually evaluated by a person. As a result, decisions are made without the benefit of human judgment, which could lead to wrongly accusing honest students—or missing legitimate cheating attempts entirely.
In high-touch, human-centered models, every session is reviewed either in real time or shortly afterward. The context surrounding an incident is considered. The intention behind a behavior is interpreted. Real violations are more likely to be addressed, while false alarms are more likely to be dismissed. And ultimately, the final outcome is something both students and faculty can trust.
The Common Thread: Human Presence
If your goal is to uphold academic standards without compromising trust, then the way you approach proctoring matters. When proctoring solutions rely on real people, they protect the integrity of the exam and the student experience. Choosing a high-touch, human-led solution sends a message—about what your institution values, how it treats its students, and what kind of outcomes it believes in.
To further explore the risks of AI-only and pop-in proctoring models, read our article “Is Your Institution’s Security an Illusion? The Reality of Pop-In Proctoring.”