Does McGraw Hill Connect detect cheating? What it logs, and when an exam is proctored
On normal homework, McGraw Hill documents grades and timing, not your screen. On a "Proctoring Enabled" assignment, Proctorio can watch and lock much more.
- Connect reports show your score, start and finish times, attempts and total time spent.
- SmartBook reports add time on questions and the confidence you picked.
- McGraw Hill documents no tab, copy and paste or screenshot log for assignments that are not proctored.
- "Proctoring Enabled" means Proctorio is on: it can record your webcam, microphone and screen, and lock the browser.
- McGraw Hill labels proctored assignments before you start.
Our pickCanvas Quiz Solver now works on McGraw Hill Connect and SmartBook (beta). It shows the answer inside the page, under the question. No second tab, no screenshots, and you pick the answer yourself. It stays off on proctored exams.
The short answer
Connect does not have a documented cheating detector for homework, quizzes or SmartBook. What McGraw Hill documents for those assignments is a gradebook with timing: your score, when you started, when you finished, how many attempts you made, and how long you spent. SmartBook also records how you rated your confidence on each question.
Proctored assignments are different. McGraw Hill partners with Proctorio for remote proctoring in Connect. On its remote proctoring page, McGraw Hill says Proctorio can "help verify student identity, lock down the browser, record exam sessions, and flag suspicious testing behavior for instructor review". Those assignments carry a "Proctoring Enabled" label, so you know before you start.
So the honest answer has two parts. On a normal assignment, the documented record is scores and time. On a proctored one, the instructor picks from a long list of recording and lockdown settings, and the sections below go through each one with the source.
Most students search this because they want help on homework without risk. Canvas Quiz Solver puts the answer under the question, in the same McGraw Hill tab. It opens no second tab, takes no screenshot, and fills in nothing: you read the answer, pick it and submit. It works on Connect assignments and quizzes and on SmartBook, and it turns itself off on proctored exams.
What your instructor can see in Connect
Your instructor sees grades and timing for each assignment, not your screen. These are the reports McGraw Hill describes in its instructor guides.
| Report | What it shows | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment Results | Score, Started, Completed, Time Spent (total for the assignment) and Scored. The detail page adds your email, the number of attempts and the score and times for each attempt. | Connect Reports guide |
| Student Performance | One student across all assignments, both submitted and in progress. | Connect Reports guide |
| At-Risk Students | Students who may fall behind "due to low engagement". Connect "looks for patterns of activity" to decide. | Connect Reports guide |
| Assignment Statistics and Item Analysis | Mean, high and low scores, how many times an assignment was submitted, and the average score on each question across the class. | Connect analysis reports guide |
| SmartBook dashboard | Progress, time spent, "time each student spent on questions", accuracy, whether you opened extra concept resources, and your High, Medium or Low confidence on each answer. | SmartBook reports guide |
Three questions matter, and we checked each one. Time per question on a Connect assignment: the Connect reports guide lists total time spent per attempt, but an instructor writing on McGraw Hill's blog in August 2025 says Connect can "track the amount of time spent on each item", so plan as if your instructor can see it (SmartBook also reports time on questions). IP address: McGraw Hill does not document this in any instructor report we found. Tabs, copy and paste, and screenshots on an assignment that is not proctored: McGraw Hill does not document this. Our guide on how students cheat on McGraw Hill goes through each method and what Connect can see.
"Not documented" is not the same as "not possible". It means McGraw Hill's own guides do not list it, so nobody can honestly promise you either way. What the guides do show is enough for an instructor to notice a pattern, such as a long quiz finished in two minutes.
When Connect shows the correct answers
Connect shows correct answers only when your instructor's feedback setting allows it. McGraw Hill's guide to assignment policy settings lists five groups of settings: basic, attempts, tolerances, resources and feedback.
- Feedback after each attempt: no feedback, total scores only, or scores before the due date with "all detailed feedback after the due date".
- Correct answers: McGraw Hill says "detailed feedback will always include the correct answers", while scores and correct or incorrect marks do not.
- Hold feedback: the instructor can hold all feedback for a set number of hours after the due date, or until a set date.
- Feedback after each question: you see feedback right away, but you must answer in order and lock in each answer, so you cannot skip ahead or go back.
- Resources: the instructor can turn on the eBook, hints, "check my work" (which tells you if an answer is correct), solutions and guided tutorials.
SmartBook works differently. Its instructor overview says students get immediate feedback on correct and incorrect answers throughout the assignment. After the due date, a SmartBook assignment goes into Recharge mode, where you can keep practicing but progress is no longer recorded.
What "Proctoring Enabled" means
"Proctoring Enabled" means your instructor turned on Proctorio for that assignment. The Connect and Proctorio student guide (March 2026) says the label shows in the assignment name, with a shield icon beside the listing, so you know before you start. Depending on the instructor's settings, Proctorio can check your ID, record your webcam, microphone and screen, force full screen and block the clipboard, and McGraw Hill says it "only runs while you are taking your proctored Connect assignment".
Every setting, one by one: what Proctoring Enabled means. How exams are set up in general: McGraw Hill Connect exams. For Proctorio in general, see our Proctorio guide.
Honorlock and Respondus with McGraw Hill
McGraw Hill's own proctoring page names Proctorio for Connect and Respondus for ALEKS, and it does not mention Honorlock. Some schools still use Honorlock on publisher sites through what Honorlock calls a Universal Exam.
Honorlock's Universal Exam guide (updated 2026-08-18) describes the steps. You start Honorlock inside your LMS, pass a face photo, an ID photo, a workspace scan and a screen share, then open the publisher site in a new tab. A prompt says "I Have Found My Exam", and an "Unlock assessment" button fills in the exam password. The guide does not name McGraw Hill, so check your syllabus. Our Honorlock guide covers what the extension records.
Respondus is on McGraw Hill's proctoring page for ALEKS, not for Connect. McGraw Hill says ALEKS combines Respondus browser locking with Respondus Monitor, which "uses webcam and video technology to record students".
Can Connect see other tabs, copy and paste, or screenshots?
On a normal assignment, McGraw Hill does not document any of the three. On a proctored assignment, each one is a setting the instructor can turn on.
- Other tabs: no tab or focus log appears in McGraw Hill's report guides. With Proctorio, the instructor can control access to other apps and websites and force full screen. Full detail in can McGraw Hill detect switching tabs?
- Copy and paste: no copy log is documented. With Proctorio, the checklist offers Disable the Clipboard and Disable Right-Click. Full detail in can McGraw Hill see if you copy and paste?
- Screenshots: McGraw Hill does not document screenshot detection. With Proctorio, record screen captures your screen during the exam, and you see the share prompt first. Full detail in can McGraw Hill detect screenshots?
- AI tools: what Connect can and cannot tell about ChatGPT or Gemini is in can McGraw Hill detect AI?
Does Connect record you?
McGraw Hill documents recording only as part of Proctorio, on assignments marked "Proctoring Enabled". Its proctoring page says: "Recording depends on the Proctorio settings chosen by the instructor or institution." You would know, because webcam, microphone and screen recording each need a Chrome prompt first; if you never saw one, McGraw Hill documents no recording for that assignment.
Camera, screen and LockDown Browser, case by case: does McGraw Hill record you?
Where Canvas Quiz Solver fits
Canvas Quiz Solver puts the answer right under the question, inside the McGraw Hill page. It works on Connect assignments and quizzes and on SmartBook, in beta. On SmartBook, the answer shows above the High, Medium and Low confidence buttons.
Here is what it does and does not change:
- No second tab. The answer is in the tab you are already in.
- No screenshots. It reads the question text on the page; it does not capture your screen.
- Fills in nothing. It never clicks, types or submits. You pick the answer and submit it yourself.
- Off on proctored exams. When it sees a proctoring tool such as Proctorio, the popup says "Not available on proctored exams." and nothing shows on the page.
- Some types are not supported yet: Connect worksheets, the accounting tool, external tools, surveys, document uploads and the older Connect player. It says "This question type isn't supported yet." there.
Answers come from AI and can be wrong, so check them against your reading. Setup is one step: open an assignment, click the extension icon and tap "Keep it on for this site". Chrome asks once for that site, and then it is on for every assignment there. It is the same account and plan as on Canvas. You get free answers to try, and Unlimited is $14.99 a month.
See every supported question type on the McGraw Hill page.
Sources we checked
- Remote Proctoring and Browser Locking for Online Testing (McGraw Hill), checked 2026-10-21
- McGraw Hill Connect + Proctorio Student User Guide (McGraw Hill, PDF, March 2026), checked 2026-10-21
- Proctorio Settings Checklist (McGraw Hill, PDF), checked 2026-10-21
- Proctorio Syllabus Description (McGraw Hill), checked 2026-10-21
- Creating Question Bank Assignments: Policy Settings (McGraw Hill, PDF, June 2026), checked 2026-10-21
- Connect Reports: Assignment Results, Student Performance, At-Risk Students (McGraw Hill, PDF, August 2026), checked 2026-10-21
- Connect Reports: Assignment Statistics, Item Analysis, and Category Analysis (McGraw Hill, PDF), checked 2026-10-21
- SmartBook Reports in Connect (McGraw Hill, PDF, August 2026), checked 2026-10-21
- SmartBook 2.0 Instructor Overview (McGraw Hill, PDF), checked 2026-10-21
- Connect features for increasing student accountability (McGraw Hill blog, an instructor's post, August 2025), checked 2026-10-21
- How to Use Honorlock with a Universal Exam (Test Takers) (Honorlock, updated 2026-08-18), checked 2026-10-21
Common questions
Can professors see your activity on McGraw Hill Connect?
Yes, inside Connect. McGraw Hill's report guide lists your score, when you started and completed each attempt, the number of attempts, and the total time spent. SmartBook reports add time on questions and the confidence you picked. An instructor writing on McGraw Hill's blog in August 2025 says Connect can also track the time spent on each item.
Can McGraw Hill Connect detect switching tabs if not proctored?
McGraw Hill does not document this. Its report guides list no tab, focus or window log for assignments without proctoring. On a Proctoring Enabled assignment, Proctorio can control access to other apps and websites.
Can McGraw Hill detect copy and paste on homework?
McGraw Hill does not document a copy and paste log for homework. Its Proctorio settings checklist has a Disable the Clipboard option, so on a proctored assignment the instructor can block copying.
Does McGraw Hill Connect know if you screenshot?
McGraw Hill does not document screenshot detection. On a proctored assignment, Proctorio can record your screen if the instructor turns that setting on, and you see a screen sharing prompt first.
Does McGraw Hill tell you if a test is proctored?
Yes. McGraw Hill says proctored assignments carry a Proctoring Enabled label in the title and a shield icon in the list, and a Before you Begin page lists what is restricted and collected.
What does proctoring enabled mean on McGraw Hill?
It means the instructor turned on Proctorio settings for that assignment. Depending on the settings, you may need to verify your ID, allow camera access, share your screen or work in full screen.
Does McGraw Hill proctoring always record your screen?
No. McGraw Hill says recording depends on the settings the instructor picks. If the instructor does not require screen recording, you will not see the screen sharing prompt.
When does Connect show the correct answers?
When the instructor allows it. Feedback can come after each attempt, after the due date, or after each question, and McGraw Hill says detailed feedback always includes the correct answers.
Answers inside McGraw Hill, without leaving the page
The answer shows under the question you are on. You pick it, you submit it. Start free.