Technology
Mexico's Largest University Voids 58,000 Admission Test Results After AI Proctoring Failure
An experimental remote entrance exam at UNAM using AI webcam surveillance saw suspicious score inflation, forcing the university to mandate a complete retake for nearly 60,000 applicants.
Ars Technica
Nearly 160,000 students applied to Mexico's premier institution, UNAM, by completing the university's entrance exam entirely online for the first time this summer. The experiment used browser lockdown software and artificial intelligence-powered camera monitoring, yet the results sparked immediate concern about widespread test manipulation.
The Score Anomaly#
The data raised alarms across the admissions office. Historically, between 2021 and 2025, only 3.5 percent of test-takers achieved perfect or near-perfect scores (100+ on a 120-question exam). In 2026, that jumped to 16.3 percent—nearly five times the historical baseline. At the extreme end, the gap widened further: previous years saw just 0.9 percent of candidates scoring 110 or higher, while this year that figure reached 5.5 percent.
The surge in elite scores triggered accusations of systematic cheating and forced the university to act. UNAM formed an investigative panel of technical experts charged with reviewing the entire remote examination process.
The Solution: Full Retake in Person#
After reviewing the situation, the expert commission concluded that a fresh in-person test was necessary. Under the university's decision, roughly 58,000 people—encompassing everyone admitted under this year's scores plus all applicants who would have qualified for admission since 2021 based on minimum passing thresholds per program—must sit for another exam. This new "control exam" will become the definitive measure for UNAM entrance, with results entirely replacing the flawed remote version.
The timeline is tight: classes are slated to open on August 10, leaving little margin for delay. The university has pledged to release details on the rescheduled test soon.
Apology and Next Steps#
University leadership acknowledged the burden on honest applicants who must now prepare and test again despite having done nothing wrong. Yet officials defended the retake as "necessary to give certainty and guarantee equity in access," according to the university's official gazette.
