Ofqual is considering whether “any action is needed” amid concerns the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) could undermine confidence in coursework.
Sir Ian Bauckham, chief of the exams regulator, has also revealed he has a crack team examining the tech’s risks, benefits and the way it’s “evolving”.
The senior official made the comments during an event at the Festival of Education on Thursday, as he predicted AI “probably will be” used to support marking.
Responding to a question on how its emergence could impact confidence in A-levels with assessments not under exam conditions, he said: “There are a couple of A-levels that do have written [assessments] – I think they’re history, English language and literature.
“The risk that you are flagging is a risk that we’re aware of, and we’re looking hard at that and considering whether or not any action is needed.”
Ofqual’s ‘specialist’ unit
Bauckham branded as “lazy thinking” the notion that because of the tech, assessment “that accurately reports what [students] actually know is either not needed or can be outsourced” to AI.
But the tech could have a “positive impact on the work of ensuring that exams are accurately marked and that papers don’t go missing”.
He said it “probably will be” used to “support the quality assurance” of grading.
“We have our own relatively small but very specialist unit inside Ofqual that specialises in AI, exploring risks, benefits and the way in which AI is evolving,” he added.
“[This is so] we can really approach this subject… from an informed and up-to-date perspective.”
Bauckham also confirmed Ofqual and the Department for Education have carried out “detailed work to investigate the opportunities, benefits, challenges and risks of onscreen assessments”. The work will be published later this year.
Your thoughts