AI-Generated Exam Answers Outperform Real Students, Study Finds

In a recent study, university exams taken by fictitious students using artificial intelligence (AI) outperformed those by real students and often went undetected by examiners. Researchers at the University of Reading created 33 fake students and employed the AI tool ChatGPT to generate answers for undergraduate psychology degree module exams.

The AI-generated responses scored, on average, half a grade higher than those of actual students. Remarkably, 94% of the AI essays did not raise any suspicion among markers, with only a 6% detection rate, which the study suggests is likely an overestimate. These findings, published in the journal Plos One, highlight a significant concern: “AI submissions robustly gained higher grades than real student submissions,” indicating that students could use AI to cheat undetected and achieve better grades than their honest peers.

Associate Professor Peter Scarfe and Professor Etienne Roesch, who led the study, emphasized the need for educators globally to take note of these findings. Dr. Scarfe noted, “Many institutions have moved away from traditional exams to make assessment more inclusive. Our research shows it is of international importance to understand how AI will affect the integrity of educational assessments. We won’t necessarily go back fully to handwritten exams – but the global education sector will need to evolve in the face of AI.”

In the study, the AI-generated answers and essays w

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