The conversations happening online about cheating in academic competitions are ones we take seriously. We've seen the comments, and rather than let speculation fill the silence, we'd prefer to chime in. 

Here's the truth: cheating has never been easier. AI tools that can answer multiple-choice questions in seconds are freely available to students across the globe. As a platform that runs timed, academic competitions online, we know that puts us in a position where we have to work hard to protect the integrity of results that students, teachers, and schools depend on.

What we currently do

Our preliminary rounds are fully online and protected by anti-cheating algorithms that run in the background without requiring teachers to proctor every session. Students compete from laptops with a camera enabled, and any student who does not prefer to be recorded can request that a teacher from their school proctor them directly. We think giving that choice to students is important.

Each student receives a different subset of questions drawn from a larger randomized pool, and the order of answer choices is shuffled individually. This means screenshots, shared answers, or real-time collaboration between students offer no meaningful advantage.

We also monitor statistical patterns in results. When scores look unusual, whether that's improbable accuracy, timing anomalies, or dramatic deviations from what we'd expect based on a cohort's performance, we calculate the mean to  flag outliers for review. 

Where we're headed

Multiple-choice testing will always carry some inherent vulnerability, and we won't pretend otherwise. That's why we're actively developing a shift toward fill in the blank and skills-based questions; the kind of thinking that requires human reasoning and nuance. Training future-proof skills is a deliberate part of our roadmap.

We built this platform because we believe in what academic competition can do for students — the confidence it builds, the curiosity it rewards, the doors it opens. Being held accountable when these things are undermined is part of academic integrity. We're committed to staying transparent about what we're doing, honest about where the gaps are, and committed to closing them. 

We welcome feedback from teachers, parents, and students on this. If you've seen something that concerns you, reach out directly.