Abstract
Providing psychoeducational and neuropsychological assessments virtually began in earnest during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of greater concern, no research has investigated whether students motivated to feign or exaggerate reading problems could be identified as noncredible when tested virtually in their home environment. The present study compared the virtual test scores of 19 university students instructed to perform normally and 18 students instructed to feign a reading disability in order to obtain academic accommodations of extra test time. Results demonstrate that students instructed to feign reading problems in a virtual testing environment can do so easily and without detection. Scores on measures of both reading speed and timed reading comprehension were significantly lower in the Feigning group and in the range suggestive of a significant reading impairment. The psychometrist overseeing the testing rated the feigning students’ scores as being valid and reliable. These results highlight the ease with which postsecondary students could manipulate test results in a virtual assessment environment, and highlight the need to develop symptom and performance exaggeration tests for use in virtual assessments.