Professor Phillip Dawson,from Deakin University’s Centre for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning,said the number of exam cheats was relatively small,and a key challenge was understanding whether cheating was rising or detection was improving.
“In higher education we are looking at increasing the use of interactive oral exams as another testing method,in addition to pen and paper tests. It’s a lot harder to cheat when you are having a conversation,and having a range of assessment types is ideal.”
Dawson said with the rise of ChatGPT – an artificial intelligence program that can generate human-like text – there would be even greater challenges ahead for detecting cheating in assessments.
“Whether we like it or not,there will be an increase in the use of ChatGPT and the issue in how we either accommodate or detect it. In general,we don’t have ways to both detect and prove the use of artificial intelligence that are really reliable. I think the vast majority of cheating AI will fly under the radar,” he said.
A NESA spokesperson said while rates of HSC malpractice remained incredibly low,“cheating attempts in the exam room or when working on an assignment from home will not be tolerated and students will be caught”.
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There were 484 plagiarism cases reported in 2022,slightly down from the previous year,but a steady increase from about 310 in 2017.
The head of the Secondary Principals Council,Craig Petersen,said more schools were using popular anti-plagiarism software service Turnitin to try and detect plagiarism and students using ChatGPT.
“But we also have parents challenging the accuracy of Turnitin and disputing whether their child has,in fact,used ChatGPT,” he said.
“AI is causing teachers a great degree of anxiety. It is highlighting the importance of teachers using a variety of assessment methods. I want to see students drafting and re-drafting work,doing handwritten essays,so teachers can work out whether what they are producing is consistent with what the student is capable of.”
Students are prohibited from bringing devices including mobile phones,programmable watches,wireless headphones,electronic dictionaries and music players into exams.
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Mohan Dhall,chief executive of the Australian Tutoring Association,said the biggest HSC cheating issue was plagiarism and the use of contract cheating,where students were outsourcing their work. “It’s always underreported,there should be routine and random checks of unsupervised assessments done outside of school hours,” Dhall said.
“We need to be looking at different types of assessments,including more open book exams,having formal assessments broken into several components assessed,and giving kids a set of resources where they are only permitted to use those resources for an assessment.”
A NSW Department of Education spokesperson said teachers were trusted to use their discretion and deal with students suspected of AI-aided plagiarism on a case-by-case basis. “The department is also continually providing advice to schools on emerging issues around AI,including assessment,given that it is such a rapidly evolving space.”
With Nigel Gladstone
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