AI proctoring failure forces 58,000 students to retake university exam

An AI-monitored entrance exam produced such suspiciously high scores that 58,000 students must retake it in person.

This summer, nearly 160,000 applicants took the entrance test for UNAM, Mexico’s largest university. For the first time, the school ran the test fully remotely using a lockdown browser and AI webcam proctoring software. According to Ars Technica, top scores immediately spiked. Between 2021 and 2025, only 3.5 percent of applicants scored 100 or higher on the 120-question test. This year, 16.3 percent hit that mark, and scores above 110 jumped sixfold. Following cheating accusations, an expert commission advised UNAM to invalidate the remote results and require about 58,000 applicants to sit for an in-person "control exam."

Why it matters: Automated webcam monitoring was supposed to make remote testing secure, but it destroyed trust in the admissions process instead. Honest applicants now have to study for a second test on extremely short notice, with UNAM classes scheduled to start on August 10. The university's rector apologized to affected students, stating the in-person redo is the only way to guarantee equity.

Know this: The mandatory retake affects everyone who secured a spot based on this year's test, along with applicants eligible under minimum cutoff scores used since 2021.

Turns out the simplest way to secure an exam is still a room, a pencil, and a proctor who breathes.