December 11th 2024.
Exam boards typically provide more detailed information about the scope of each question. However, in an effort to reduce workload and maintain consistent levels of difficulty from year to year, students may soon be taking exams that are set by artificial intelligence (AI). This idea was discussed by Sir Ian Bauckham, head of England's exams regulator Ofqual, during a meeting with MPs yesterday. According to Bauckham, the current process of marking exams is "labour intensive" and "difficult," highlighting the need for some level of automation. However, he also emphasized the importance of human oversight in the marking process.
Naturally, this raises the question: what would an AI-generated exam paper look like? To get an idea, we turned to ChatGPT, a large language model developed by OpenAI. At first, the questions generated were quite mundane. So, we asked if exam boards ever use more creative questions and requested some examples from ChatGPT.
The model suggested that open-ended questions could be used to assess critical thinking and originality. For grades A and C respectively, it proposed the following questions in the subjects of English Language and Literature, Mathematics, Biology, History, and Sociology.
English Language and Literature
Grade A: Imagine that in 100 years, humans can live on Mars. Write a diary entry from the perspective of a teenager adjusting to life there.
Grade C: Reimagine a key event from Macbeth from the perspective of a minor character, such as a servant or a soldier.
Mathematics
Grade A: A company wants to design a water tank that holds exactly 1,000 liters of water. Propose a design for the tank, explaining the shape and dimensions you chose and why.
Grade C: A fictional currency has coins shaped like pentagons, hexagons, and octagons. Investigate how these shapes can tessellate to form a tiling pattern, and explain which one would be most efficient for minimizing gaps.
Biology
Grade A: Design a plant that could survive on a planet with very little sunlight and extreme temperatures. Explain its adaptations.
Grade C: Write a short story about a day in the life of a red blood cell, explaining the journey it takes and the functions it performs.
History
Grade A: If you could interview a key figure from the French Revolution, such as Robespierre or Marie Antoinette, what three questions would you ask them? Why?
Grade C: Imagine you are a journalist in the 1920s. Write a newspaper article discussing the impact of World War I on society, using historical details to make it realistic.
Sociology
Grade A: Create a fictional society where gender roles are reversed compared to traditional norms. How might family structures, education, and employment be different?
Grade C: Write a script for a debate between two sociologists—one supporting Marxist theory and the other supporting Functionalist theory—about the role of education in society.
But how did ChatGPT come up with these questions? The model was designed to generate questions that would be relevant across various GCSE exam boards in England, such as AQA, OCR, Edexcel, and WJEC Eduqas. Of course, each board has its own unique style and minor differences, but the questions produced by ChatGPT were intended to be broadly applicable.
Considering the recent blunder in which four pages of questions were accidentally omitted from an A-level exam, causing distress among students and teachers, the involvement of AI in the exam process may be a welcome change. Bauckham also discussed the potential challenges of using AI, stating that decisions made by a computer are less transparent and therefore less open to challenge compared to those made by a human. He also acknowledged that while most exams involve extended writing that would require human marking, simple questions like multiple choice could potentially be marked by a machine with human oversight.
The use of AI in education has also captured the attention of Ofsted, who has been tasked by the government to research its potential impact. The review will focus on how schools and colleges in England are currently utilizing AI and how leaders are managing any associated risks.
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
