Assessment and AI

Why this matters

A student with a phone can now get an essay, a solved maths problem or a translation in seconds. If assessment only checks the final written answer, it may measure the chatbot rather than the student. Heads, teachers and education officers need assessment that still tells them what students have learned and rules on honesty that are clear and fair.

Banning alone does not work

It is tempting to ban AI completely. A ban may be right for some tests, such as supervised exams. But for homework it is very hard to enforce and AI detection tools are unreliable. They can wrongly accuse honest students, including those who write in a second language. Never punish a student on the word of a detection tool alone.

A better approach combines clear rules with assessment that is harder to outsource.

Design assessment that measures learning

• Assess the process, not only the product. Ask for plans, rough drafts and notes. Ask students to explain how they reached an answer.
• Use the classroom. Short written tasks done in class, under supervision, show what students can do on their own.
• Ask for the personal and the local. Tasks based on the student's own experience, their area or a class activity are harder for a chatbot to answer well.
• Add a conversation. A few minutes of questions about a submitted piece quickly shows whether a student understands it.
• Use AI openly where it helps learning. For example, ask students to critique an AI-written answer and find its mistakes. This builds the judgement they will need.

Set clear rules on honesty

Students cannot follow rules they do not know. For each piece of work, say clearly which of these applies:

1. No AI allowed, as in a supervised test.
2. AI allowed for some steps, such as checking spelling or generating ideas, but the writing must be the student's own.
3. AI allowed with acknowledgement: the student says which tool they used and how.

Follow your department's and board's instructions where they exist. Explain the reasons: assessment is meant to show what the student can do. See the guide on academic honesty and AI.

Handling suspected misuse fairly

If you suspect a student has misused AI:

• Talk to the student first and ask them to explain their work.
• Look at their earlier work and drafts.
• Do not rely on a detection tool as proof.
• Follow your school's normal process for academic honesty, with a chance for the student and family to respond.

The aim is learning, not catching students out. Many cases come from confusion about the rules, not from an intention to cheat.

Teachers using AI for assessment

AI can help teachers write quiz questions, marking guides or feedback comments. Check every question and answer against the curriculum, because AI can be wrong. Never paste students' names or identifiable work into a public tool and never let AI decide a student's mark. The teacher marks and is responsible. See human oversight.

Try it

Take one homework task your school sets. Ask yourself how easily a student could complete it with a chatbot. Redesign it in one of the ways above so that it better shows the student's own learning. Share both versions with a colleague.

Check yourself

1. Why should a school never punish a student on the evidence of an AI detection tool alone?
2. Name three ways to design assessment that is harder to outsource to AI.
3. What three levels of AI use can a teacher set for a piece of work?