Being the first to invent something is not new to the University — this campus has long been a hub of innovation. Students and residents of Champaign-Urbana are surrounded by brilliant minds, research and resources. University faculty brought the Computer-Based Testing Facility to campus.
This environment, often shortened to CBTF, is the first large-scale computerized test-taking environment created for use in an academic setting. It allows professors to feed test questions into a system called PrairieLearn, which then randomizes them. It allows students to schedule exams at their convenience and work alongside up to 109 other students on an exam at once.
The origins of PrairieLearn
The concept for the CBTF started from an educational program called PrairieLearn, created by Matthew West and Mariana Silva, professors in Engineering. West sought to improve professors’ ability to house complex questions, including code and diagrams for advanced classes in subjects like mechanics.
“The whole idea is that he was unhappy with the solutions out there; he wanted something that was more flexible, sophisticated and could measure different skills that are not just fill in the blank, multiple choice,” Silva said.
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The CBTF was created by several engineering professionals, including West, who faced issues giving exams due to large class sizes.
Some of the concepts that PrairieLearn housed, such as randomization and the ability to handle code and diagrams, were also implemented into the CBTF. The only thing the CBTF does not have is the test questions, which must be input by the professor. This used to be a more difficult task in PrairieLearn and the CBTF until generative artificial intelligence became more widely used.
“In order to have those amazing questions, you have to write code, and not everyone can write code,” Silva said. “So with this beautiful age of AI that we have, we now developed new features so that they are GenAI-based that help instructors to write the code.”
CBTF, anti-cheating and AI
PrairieLearn’s original intent wasn’t to prevent cheating, but it became a strong barrier against it in practice. Instructors outside of engineering and computer science started looking for more secure ways to test students without fear of AI use, which helped increase the CBTF’s use and overall growth.
Current CBTF administrator Jim Sosnowski said that LAS professors whose testing requires essays and other written work have been pushing to use the CBTF because they believe they cannot rely on students’ integrity anymore.
“‘I want my students to write an essay, but if I do this in the classroom, or if I send it as a take-home exam, I’m getting more and more concerns about AI and students using AI to write.’” Sosnowski said, remembering various conversations with concerned LAS professors.
The appeal lies in the CBTF’s secure environment. There is no access to outside internet, no AI tools and a strict 50-minute time limit with no bathroom break. It is close to foolproof. For departments hit hardest by GenAI misuse, the CBTF has become a way to regain academic integrity.
National innovation and beyond
Sosnowski said the CBTF started with small groups and expanded to the large operation it is now, scheduling copious amounts of exams for hundreds of students.
“One of the things I’m most excited about right now is we’ve been good at giving exams for a while,” Sosnowski said. “I mean, this semester, I think we’re up to 125,000 exam reservations.”
Sosnowski said that the CBTF works closely with Disability Resources and Educational Services, and that the CBTF’s environment works seamlessly for implementing the most common accommodations, such as extended time or alternate scheduling.
“We adapt that and see what we can do,” said Sosnowski. “And if we can’t, then we work with DRES to make sure they have that accessible exam over there.”
Sosnowski and David Mussulman, professor in Information Sciences who assists the team, said that they have helped other schools like the University of California, Berkeley, and others set up their own CBTFs.
Silva said that collaboration stays constant, that she and the team take inspiration from professors at other schools and that the CBTF is constantly growing.
