Is Gradescope really as mighty in catching cheaters as they claim? The short answer is: They do have detection features, but it’s not a magic wand. The longer answer lies in how Gradescope checks similarities, and integrates with external proctoring solutions. Keep reading to find out more about it.
Why Gradescope Advertises Cheating Detection?
Because they do offer multiple tools and features to maintain academic integrity. They can flag copied content, compare your code or answers with others, and give you that dreaded similarity score. Yes, that means if you’re planning to pass off your friend’s code as your own or do a ctrl+c ctrl+v job from some random Github gist, you might stand out like a sore thumb.
Gradescope uses an AI-based approach to check your submissions. Whether it’s a handwritten exam (through OCR) or a coding project, it tries to find repeated patterns or suspicious overlaps. So, even if you re-structure a paragraph or rename your variables in your code, you still might get flagged if the underlying logic is identical.
I once saw a case where a small chunk of code with identical comments and perfect indentation got singled out. Yes, it made life difficult for the students who copied it.
How Does It Pick Up On Similarities In Code?
Gradescope uses code similarity detection based on machine learning. They often say that if you keep your similarity scores below 15% - 20%, you’re likely okay, but anything beyond that rings alarm bells. The system essentially looks at your code’s structure, not just the words themselves.
So, if you rely on ChatGPT to generate code, watch out! It might produce code that’s too “tidy” or too uniform, and your instructor might notice suspiciously consistent formatting. If your university uses other tools like Turnitin's AI detector then you will get caught as well.
Why you should care?
Although Gradescope isn’t that hard to fool, it has enough features that can catch you off guard if you rely on copying or lightly paraphrasing. Don't go for blatantly copying stuff as it is very easy to catch on. Also, if you use ChatGPT or similar AI, note that it has a habit of generating code with neatly placed comments explaining exactly what a piece of code does, perfect variable, function and class names. Also, sometimes as humans we tend to write comments to remind ourselves like "Do this thing first when you log in tomorrow".
These type of comments would surely be not present in code generated by AI. If every single line is so flawlessly formatted, that’s a textbook sign of it being AI generated.
Also, common sense says that your professor might be looking at hundreds of ChatGPT generated code on a daily basis so they could figure it out by themselves without even using any tool like Gradescope or Turnitin.
Does It Monitor Screenshots or Tab Switching?
This part is interesting because many folks on Reddit claim that Gradescope itself doesn’t track if you take screenshots or if you fiddle with different tabs. While that’s true, it doesn’t mean your instructor or institution can’t layer on separate proctoring software that does watch your screen. Gradescope mainly logs submission times and the sequence of your uploads, so if you do something suspicious like repeated rapid submissions or very short intervals, your teacher might wonder how genuine your work is.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Does Gradescope explicitly catch cheating?
They advertise that they can help detect cheating through their similarity scores, but it’s not foolproof.
Q2. Can Gradescope detect copy and paste?
Yes, they have a code similarity tool that flags suspicious overlaps if your code structure matches existing sources or other students’ submissions.
Q3. Can gradescope detect ChatGPT code?
Gradescope doesn’t specifically claim to detect AI text. But the style of AI-generated text/code (perfect grammar/code comments, perfect indentation, etc.) can be flagged as suspicious by your instructor or if they are using Turnitin then you will definitely get caught.
Q4. So can I outsmart Gradescope with random synonyms or weird formatting?
You might reduce the chance of being flagged, but the underlying logic still stands out. Once your instructor checks deeper, it can be quite obvious.
Q5. What if I want to learn from ChatGPT but not get flagged?
Best bet is to actually understand the code or text, then rewrite carefully, and cite your source. That’s better than blindly pasting AI answers.
The Bottom Line
Gradescope’s approach—advertised as a cheating detection tool can indeed catch you if you rely too heavily on copying or AI text. They use similarity checks, machine learning, and they can integrate external proctoring. My advice is, write your own code or solutions, or at least paraphrase properly and cite your sources. Because at the end of the day, it’s your instructor who does the final judgment. If they see something off, they will dig deeper—and they do have their brains with years of experience that can easily catch on students like you.
