Pattern helps detect police exam cheaters in Philippines

Manila: A large-scale attempt to cheat in the police entrance exams last year was detected by the pattern seen from the wrong answers of the test takers.

An outline analysed from incorrect responses in the police entrance and promotion test administered in 2012 showed convincing evidence that the exam takers had tried to cheat using sheets with blanks already filled in.

The exam takers were given sheets with wrong answers but they still copied it. To this, the examination administrators concluded that there had been a conspiracy to cheat in the test.

According the Philippine National Police (PNP), the National Police Commission the examination results of 225 examinees from Mindanao had been invalidated by the National Police Commission after it was found that candidates had cheated during the entrance and promotional examinations on April 29, 2012 and October 14, 2012.

Vice-Chairman and Executive Officer Eduardo Escueta of the National Police Commission said they regularly conduct an answer pattern analysis to maintain the credibility and integrity of the police examinations.

But he said that in their analysis, the Commission found that 205 PNP Entrance examinees (151 for the April 29 exam and 54 for the October 14 exam) were found to have a high per centage of similar patterns of wrong answers ranging from 50 per cent to 100 per cent.

“Of the 20 Police Officers 1 (PO1) who took the Police Officer Examination on April 29, 2012 a high per centage of similar patterns of wrong answers were also found.

“The examinees’ high per centage of homogeneity of wrong answers is a strong and clear indication of statistical improbability, which is regarded as prima facie evidence of the existence of examination irregularity or form of cheating as provided for under Section 4 of Republic Act No. 9416, otherwise known as the Anti-Cheating Law of 2007,” Escueta said.

Weed out

Escueta said among the objectives of the police entrance examinations was to weed out potential bad eggs in the national police force.

He said that the Commission is committed to exercise its authority by identifying and rejecting the application of anyone who undermines the sanctity and integrity of the police examinations.

As a consequence of the attempt to cheat, Escueta said that the 225 civilian examinees would be barred from taking the PNP Entrance Examination for a period of three years.

“They could also be charged for dishonesty and be meted the penalty of dismissal from the service,” he said.

The exams cheating incident takes place at time when the credibility of the national police force has been cast in the spotlight due to reports citing the involvement of some of them in corrupt activities.

In 2008, reports said that some 400 police entrance exam candidates were barred from taking the tests after some of them were found to be hiding answer guides on their persons.