Case Study: Reclaiming Assessment Validity in the Age of Online Learning

In early 2026, Dr. Trevor Basil noticed something unusual in his online classes at two California colleges. Unproctored quizzes were producing almost all near-perfect scores, clustered so tightly at the top that it was difficult to tell who understood the material and who did not.

The study

Working with Kevin Rockmael, Dr. Basil ran a structured comparison across DeAnza College and Cal State Fullerton, holding the instructor, content, and grading standards constant while introducing Proctorio partway through the term.

What changed

Once remote proctoring was introduced, scores spread out across the grading scale and began to resemble a typical in-person, supervised classroom. The shift held across later quizzes, and online proctored courses closely matched in-person results.

Takeaways

• Grades did not drop, and strong students still performed well.
• The exams could once again distinguish different levels of performance.
• Remote proctoring helped restore the basic purpose of an assessment: accurately measuring what students know.