DPGNotes Comprehensive Quiz Policy & Analytics Informatory

1. Institutional Assessment Charter & Educational Integrity

The DPGNotes Quiz & Examination Engine provides higher-education students, faculty, and verified contributors with a resilient, tamper-evident digital assessment platform. Built as an open academic infrastructure under Akshat Network Hub, our mission is to facilitate objective self-evaluation, continuous coursework revision, competitive mock preparation, and verified academic benchmark testing without compromising privacy or student fairness.

This comprehensive document establishes binding operational guidelines for candidates sitting for online examinations, contributors generating quiz questions, automated proctoring telemetry mechanisms, cryptographic answer key security, deterministic rank scoring, and analytical data retention under the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023.

2. Candidate Identity Verification & Strict Single-Attempt Lock

To preserve evaluation integrity and ensure meritocratic standing across competitive leaderboards, every published assessment on DPGNotes strictly enforces a single-attempt policy. Once an attempt is initiated or submitted, retakes or duplicate entries by the same individual are strictly prohibited.

The system enforces this restriction across three independent architectural layers:

• Student / Roll Number Verification: Every candidate must submit a valid institutional Student ID or Roll Number. The scoring engine queries the quiz's Firestore attempt ledger; if the Student ID has already been recorded for this quiz, initiation is rejected immediately.
• Authenticated Session Binding (UID): Both verified contributor sessions and anonymous Firebase Authentication guest sessions assign an immutable candidateUid. This UID is bound directly to the attempt document, preventing account hopping or credential spoofing.
• Client Device & Local Workstation Lock: Upon attempt initialization, a cryptographically generated session token is stored in browser localStorage (keyed by quiz_attempt_{quizId}). If a candidate clears session cookies or attempts to re-enter from the same browser, local token checks block duplicate assessment sessions.

3. Anti-Cheat Monitoring & UMC Telemetry Engine

During live examination sessions, the platform utilizes modern, non-invasive browser APIs to safeguard academic honesty. The system operates an automated Unfair Means Case (UMC) Telemetry Engine that monitors candidate workstation activity without accessing private files, camera streams, or unauthorized peripherals:

• Tab Switching & Window Blur (TAB_OR_APP_HIDDEN): Implemented through the W3C Page Visibility API. If a candidate minimizes the assessment window, switches tabs, or launches an external application, a telemetry event is recorded with an accurate timestamp. Under Strict Proctoring Mode, tab abandonment immediately terminates the examination and forces submission of current answers.
• Fullscreen Compliance (FULLSCREEN_EXIT): For assessments designated as proctored by the author, fullscreen mode is mandatory. Exiting fullscreen mode prompts an on-screen warning banner and logs a compliance infraction. Three consecutive fullscreen departures trigger automatic UMC disqualification.
• Clipboard & Context Interception (CLIPBOARD_ACCESS): Copying questions, cutting text, right-clicking to inspect elements, or pasting external snippets are intercepted and disabled. Each attempt increments the candidate's violation counter.
• Developer Tools & Keyboard Shortcutting: Shortcuts associated with browser inspection (F12, Ctrl+Shift+I, Ctrl+U) are suppressed and logged as potential tampering events.

4. Cryptographic Answer Key Privacy & Deferred Evaluation

Unlike conventional web quizzes where answer keys are embedded in hidden HTML attributes or JSON payloads accessible via browser DevTools, DPGNotes maintains a strict Zero-Knowledge Client Payload Architecture:

• Client Payloads: Public quiz documents (quizDirectory/{quizId} and questionPages/{pageId}) contain solely question prompt markdown, options, code snippets, and media references. Correct option mappings are completely omitted from public network responses.
• Private Server Key: Correct answer keys reside exclusively in the contributor's private subcollection (contributors/{uid}/quizzes/{quizId}/privateAnswerKey/main), protected by Firestore Security Rules that prohibit candidate read access.
• Immediate vs. Deferred Disclosure:
  • Immediate Evaluation: If the author enables instant release, candidate scores and itemized solutions are calculated upon submission and rendered on the candidate's private scorecard.
  • Deferred Evaluation: For formal institution tests, candidate responses are committed in a PENDING evaluation state. Ranks and correct answers are withheld until the author officially publishes the key from their Contributor Dashboard, preventing early test-takers from leaking answers to peers.

5. Deterministic Scoring Algorithm & Tie-Breaking Policy

Candidate performance is evaluated with complete mathematical determinism based on the author's configured parameters:

Deterministic Tie-Breaking Protocol

When multiple candidates achieve identical net percentage scores on the public or class leaderboard, rank ties are resolved strictly according to the following hierarchy:

1. Higher Net Score: Candidate with superior aggregate points.
2. Lesser Duration (Speed): Candidate who completed the assessment in fewer total seconds.
3. Zero UMC Infractions: Candidates with clean integrity telemetry receive precedence over candidates with logged infractions.
4. Higher Correct Answer Ratio: Candidate with fewer incorrect attempts.
5. Submission Timestamp: In the rare event of parity across all criteria, the earlier submission timestamp is assigned the higher rank.

6. Proctored Code Sandbox Security & Runtime Disabling

For computer science, software engineering, and technical coding quizzes, question bodies may embed live code containers (supporting HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, C++, and Java syntax highlighting). During an active unsubmitted examination, code sandbox execution capabilities are intentionally restricted or disabled to prevent candidates from using the browser's console as an unauthorized external compiler or sandbox escape vehicle. Full interactive execution is restored upon scorecard generation.

7. Assessment Analytics, Aggregated Metrics & Data Privacy

In adherence to the DPDP Act 2023 and collegiate data protection standards, examination analytics are handled with strict privacy safeguards:

• Contributor Dashboards: Quiz authors receive aggregate insights including average completion time, median score, question difficulty discrimination index, and common misconceptions. Authors do not receive candidate private passwords, payment data, or off-platform browsing behavior.
• Audit Logging: Administrative overrides, answer key updates, manual score recalculations, and UMC dispute investigations generate immutable records in the platform audit log (auditLogs/{eventId}).
• Data Retention & Right to Erasure: Candidate attempt records are retained for the duration of the active academic term (or until deleted by the author). Candidates may request data anonymization or removal in accordance with the DPGNotes Data Retention Policy.

8. Contributor Ethics, Quality Standards & Redressal

Authors who create and publish quizzes on DPGNotes must ensure all question statements, code snippets, and answer explanations are academically sound, unambiguous, and free from copyright infringement or defamatory language. Quizzes exhibiting malicious script injection, misleading distractors, or academic fraud will be purged, and responsible contributor accounts will be subject to permanent suspension under DRASA regulations.

Students or faculty members who identify inaccuracies or unfair question formulation may lodge an official review through the Grievance Redressal Desk referencing the specific quizId.