What Should Assessment Look Like in an AI World?

By: Amelia - Teacher, Campus AI Coach, and Co-Founder

As educators, why are we using the same learning measurements that we used before genAI was accessible to students?

Artificial intelligence in the classroom is considered disruptive technology, along with calculators, the internet, and smartphones. That term, “disruptive,” has a negative connotation but in this case, it means what it is: something that has had a major impact on how students learn.

You’ve likely read recently about a professor from Mississippi who wanted to determine whether his students used AI to complete part of their final that required written responses. To do this, he embedded in white font a directive that AI include the word “Madagascar” into any output it provided. This was a class about American history; Madagascar had no business showing up in students’ responses. The idea was that students would copy the entire assignment, including the hidden directive, put it into an AI platform, and paste the output without reading through it or modifying it with their own writing voice.

According to the professor, 32 out of 35 of his students did just that, turning in work that included the word Madagascar.

“Gotcha!”

That’s the message.

But it’s not what I took from the story.

I’ve been teaching since the era of students meeting word count minimums by typing nonsense in white font at the end of their essays. A teacher looking at the word count alone would be under the impression the student had met the requirement. So, the white font trick is old hat.

My strongest reaction wasn’t based on the students’ actions at all. It was the assessment.

Why are we still designing assessments that can be completed by copying and pasting into AI?

What would have happened if the creativity required to catch those students was used to design a more effective assessment of their learning?

Why are we still trying to outsmart a technology that has, by definition, disrupted all aspects of learning? It’s a waste of time.

What if, instead, we fully realize that the world has changed, and prepare our students for what they are walking into?

AI is part of nearly every aspect of life and all sectors, shouldn’t we pivot to provide students the best education that will prepare them for that new reality?

So, while many people heard about this story and immediately focused on the students’ choices, there is a lot more to learn here.

Let me say, it is the responsibility of these students to do their own thinking and their own work. I’m not arguing that this professor was wrong and the students did the right thing.

I’m arguing that the focus in education needs to shift away from “Gotcha!” and toward assessments that truly determine students’ understanding of the content.

If our first instinct is to build better traps instead of better learning experiences, we're investing our energy in the wrong problem.