Academic integrity
Know how every coding answer was written
The Skill Site keeps each change a learner makes to a quiz answer, so staff can replay how it was written and see what was pasted in. A similarity check pairs answers that look alike once names, comments and spacing are set aside. Hidden tests and exam time kept by the server do the rest.
Last checked
Replay how an answer was written
Every save of a coding answer is kept: a background save about every 25 seconds while the learner works, the saves they make themselves, and the hand-in, each with the number of characters their browser counted as pasted. On the attempt page, staff step through the versions from the first to the code handed in.
An answer that appears all at once from a paste looks very different from one built up over twenty minutes of edits and test runs. The replay shows which, without asking the learner.
Find answers that look alike
For each batch quiz, a Similar answers page compares every learner's answer to each coding question with every other learner's, and lists the pairs that are 60% or more alike. Staff open a pair to see both answers side by side and go from there to each learner's replay.
- Variable names, numbers, strings, comments and spacing do not change the result.
- The starter code, and code most of the batch shares, are left out.
- It runs when staff open the page. Nothing is stored, and learners are never told.
Exam conditions
Hidden tests
Tests learners never see, so an answer has to work rather than match the visible examples.
Time kept by the server
An exam's time limit and closing time are kept on our server, not in the learner's browser. Time that runs out hands the attempt in.
Shuffled questions and choices
Each learner can get the questions, and the choices in multiple-choice questions, in a different order.
Answers held back
You choose when answers are shown: after a learner’s last attempt, after the quiz closes, or never.
No AI help in exams
AI hints are never offered in an exam, and every hint given elsewhere is on record for staff.
Settings fixed per attempt
Each attempt keeps the time limit, window and pass mark it started under, so a later edit never changes a result.
Questions and answers
How does the similarity check work?
It works like MOSS, the long-standing code plagiarism checker. Each answer is turned into a sequence of tokens, with names, numbers, strings, comments and spacing set aside, and short runs of tokens are fingerprinted. Two answers that share at least 60% of the smaller one’s fingerprints are listed as a pair, with both answers side by side.
Does renaming variables hide copying?
No. Names, numbers and strings are all treated alike before answers are compared, so renaming variables, changing comments or reformatting does not change the result.
Will learners who used the starter code be flagged?
No. The starter code is left out, and so is anything more than half of the answers share once at least four learners have answered, so the obvious way to solve a problem does not count against anyone.
Does a high similarity score prove cheating?
No. Short or tightly specified exercises can have few good answers. A listed pair is a reason to look at the two answers and their replays, not a verdict.
Do you lock down the browser or watch learners on camera?
No. There is no lockdown browser, IP restriction or webcam proctoring. Integrity comes from hidden tests, server-kept time, the replay of how each answer was written and the similarity check.
Try it with your next cohort
Start a 30-day free trial with up to 10 learners and no card, or tell us what you teach and we will show you The Skill Site with your own exercise.