Synap adds AI-assisted proctoring to its online exam platform
Synoptic gives institutions configurable monitoring, recorded evidence and human review tools within the same system used to deliver assessments
Synoptic places recorded exam evidence and potential breaches on a timeline for review by human invigilators
ETIH Innovation Awards winner Synap has released Synoptic, an integrated proctoring system designed to help education providers, training organizations and professional bodies identify and investigate possible misconduct in remote exams.
The system combines exam delivery and proctoring in a single platform. It records assessment sessions, creates an audit trail and uses AI to highlight potentially suspicious activity for review by human invigilators.
Synap has timed the UK launch for the period between A-level and GCSE results days, as exam regulators and professional bodies consider how generative AI and wearable technology affect assessment integrity.
The company cites comments from Ofqual Chief Regulator Ian Bauckham that detection rates for AI in assessed work remain low, despite concern among teachers.
Professional assessment providers face similar pressures. The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants has withdrawn remote invigilated exams amid concerns about cheating.
Configurable monitoring replaces a single proctoring model
Synoptic allows organizations to select different controls according to the perceived risk of an assessment, rather than applying the same monitoring arrangements to every candidate and exam.
Available options include live supervision, post-exam review, periodic screenshots and HTML reconstruction. Synap says the latter two features can support exam delivery in environments with limited bandwidth.
During a review, examiners can move between a reconstruction of the assessment, webcam images, screenshots and a timeline of recorded events. The system can flag activities such as a candidate leaving full-screen mode, opening a new tab or moving focus away from the exam window.
AI-assisted review identifies points on that timeline for an invigilator to examine. The company does not say that AI makes the final decision about whether cheating occurred.
The distinction is important in a part of EdTech already criticized for inconsistent flags and intrusive monitoring.
Synap positions Synoptic as an evidence-gathering tool with human oversight.
“The conversation shouldn't be whether online exams can be trusted. It should be whether institutions are using technology that deserves to be trusted,” says Dr James Gupta, CEO of Synap.
Audit trails sit at the center of the product
Because the proctoring functions are built into Synap’s existing exam platform, examiners and invigilators can manage delivery, monitoring and review without transferring records between separate systems.
Synap says this preserves a complete audit trail and reduces technical complexity. Recorded sessions and logged evidence can be reviewed or escalated after an assessment.
Gupta explains: “We wanted to offer a more seamless exam experience, so we created Synoptic to embed proctoring directly into the exam lifecycle.”
Security features include platform-wide encryption, and Synap says the system adheres to ISO/IEC 27001 standards.
Synoptic is now available through Synap’s online examination platform, with institutions able to configure its controls according to the requirements of individual assessments.
