Could students really use AI to cheat in their exams? We put it to the test!

High Speed Training

June 19, 2023

5 min read

Artificial Intelligence is everywhere at the moment, with AI generated songs, images and articles making headlines daily, it’s no surprise that leaders are speculating on how the technology could impact industries across the board.

What is AI?

What better way to define AI, than to ask Google’s new Bard platform. Bard says:

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science that deals with the creation of intelligent agents, which are systems that can reason, learn, and act autonomously. AI research has been highly successful in developing effective techniques for solving a wide range of problems, from game playing to medical diagnosis.

There are many different approaches to AI, but they all share a common goal: to create machines that can think and act like humans. Some of the most common AI techniques include machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision.

Machine learning is a type of AI that allows machines to learn from data without being explicitly programmed. Natural language processing is a type of AI that allows machines to understand and process human language. Computer vision is a type of AI that allows machines to see and understand the world around them.

AI is a rapidly growing field with the potential to revolutionize many aspects of our lives. From self-driving cars to medical diagnosis, AI is already having a major impact on the world. As AI continues to develop, it is likely to become even more pervasive and transformative.

From healthcare, to financial services, to marketing, AI is already causing a major shake up – but it’s not only businesses that are feeling the impact – education professionals have expressed concerns about how students might use AI platforms such as ChatGPT to their advantage.

But how smart is AI, and can teachers tell the difference between tech generated-written content compared to real life students?

To see whether AI is really a threat in the education sector, we put it to the test with a focus group of high school teachers blindly assessing both AI written and student written exam answers across various topics.

We gave the GCSE aged students and ChatGPT the same questions to answer, and each teacher had to assess both responses. The teachers had to identify whether the answers were human or AI, and give them a grade from 1 – 5 (5 being the strongest).

Concerningly, three in five (60%) teachers struggled to identify at least one answer correctly, with one in three (33%) failing to correctly identify both of the answers they reviewed. In total, nearly half (47%) of all of the answers reviewed by the focus group were wrongly identified – meaning that teachers either thought they were AI when they were actually student written or vice versa.

When it comes to the quality of the content, the AI answers scored an average grade of 4 out of a possible 5 – a respectable grade which would roughly equate to a 7.5 in the current GCSE grade system, and between an A and a B in the old system¹. Considering that the average GCSE grade is 5.2², this example shows that AI generated content can be to a high standard that is above the national average.

With this in mind, it is unsurprising that students might be keen to explore how the tech might help boost their GCSE grades – so teachers should be extra vigilant when it comes to educating themselves on how to spot tech-written content.

Whilst it’s definitely not an easy task, there are a few giveaways that make AI content stand out. Our expert and Head of Learning and Development, Dr Richard Anderson, has shared his top tips on spotting whether a student has used ChatGPT or similar platforms in their work:

Americanised language

One of the simplest identifying signs of AI use is Americanised spelling. Whilst this is easy for students to remove if they know what they’re looking for, they may overlook it, leaving the words as small clues a teacher can pick up on.

Lack of personal case studies

Students are instructed to use memorised and previously studied examples to help illustrate their points and reinforce their argument. A total lack of anecdotal evidence and a reliance on the information provided with the question, could suggest AI involvement.

Vocabulary used

Whilst the AI was instructed to answer questions in simplified language, several teachers spotted that some of the answers contained language that you would not expect to see from GCSE aged pupils. Students tend to use more informal language and a regular use of advanced vocabulary is not common.

Formulaic structure

AI will try to neatly package an answer and cover all points that it is asked to concisely. The teachers in the study pointed out that some answers seemed to try to fit everything in, whereas many students would be unlikely to address every single point in a question.

It’s a little too perfect

Even the best students make some small mistakes in their writing, whether it’s spelling, grammar, or a tendency to waffle and include unnecessary words. AI created content is unlikely to include any of these, and may stand out as being a little too perfect.

Of course, there are more obvious ways to tell if AI has been used!

So, following Dr. Richard’s expert advice – do you think you’d be able to spot the difference between an AI generated answer and a student written one?

Here are two answers for this question from a previous English GCSE exam, which is human and which is AI?:

Write the text for a speech you will give to your peers persuading them to volunteer with a charity.

In your speech, you could include:

ways they can volunteer
what kinds of charities and people they can help
reasons why it is important to volunteer as well as any other ideas you might have.

Answer 1

Today I am going to talk to you about the importance of charities. Charities are set up to support and help those in need. It is important to volunteer for these charities to help raise funds for the charity as well as to raise awareness for the area they are working in. Help can come in many different forms whether you work at their offices, donate some of your earnings or help raise the money. When it comes to charities it is really the case that every little helps. It doesn’t matter whether you know someone who is affected by the charity subject or not. Support or donations of any kind, big or small are received gratefully.

Money can be raised in multiple ways, whether you sell cakes in a school playground or do a sponsored run or hike. You could send in some extra earnings you got this month or do a garage sale; you could also set up a fete or a small business where the earnings go to this charity. There are so many ways so all you need to do is get creative and make it happen! Because believe me someone out there whether you know them or not will be so grateful. Just subscribing and giving £5 a month or donating your time to support the work of a charity can make a difference. If everyone did a little this would amount to a lot, imagine if 10 people raised £15 pound a month then by the end of that month they already have £150 which is going to help a lot because little by little it adds up.

Not only are there hundreds of ways to raise this money but there are hundreds of places the money goes to whether you know someone who has suffered from a sickness, and you want to support the British heart foundation or cancer research, or you love animals and want to help the RSPCA or WWF or feel strongly about the future of our planet and want to help an ECO charity.

Maybe you have some old furniture, and you want to give it a new home then you could go to Oxfam. Have you grown out of your favourite top? Instead why not send it to a charity shop for those who don’t have the money to buy it first-hand? See I told you it was easy! Just find the charity and give something away or do something sponsored. Alternatively you can give your time, raising money is important but giving time to the charity is also important to raise awareness and so the charity doesn’t have to give their money to pay people to do their work, if people volunteer.

What are you waiting for? Get donating!

Answer 2

Today, I want to talk to you about something important – volunteering with a charity. It’s a chance for us to help others and make a positive impact.

There are many ways we can volunteer. We can serve meals at a soup kitchen, organise clothing drives, or clean up our community. If you like teaching or mentoring, you can help kids with their homework or join after-school clubs. And if you have professional skills, you can use them to assist in areas like healthcare, technology, or marketing. There’s something for everyone.

When we volunteer, we can make a real difference in people’s lives. We can help the homeless by giving them shelter and supplies. We can bring joy to the elderly by spending time with them. And we can support underprivileged children in reaching their dreams. Our actions may seem small, but they mean a lot to those in need.

Volunteering is not only important, but it also benefits us personally. It helps us connect with our communities and build relationships with others who care about making a difference. It opens our minds to new perspectives and teaches us empathy and gratitude. Plus, it helps us grow as individuals, developing our character and appreciation for what we have.

I invite each one of you to take that step, find a charity that speaks to your heart, and sign up to volunteer. No act of kindness is too small. Together, we can make a big impact and build a brighter world for all.

Thank you.

If you guessed that Answer 2 was written by AI then congratulations, you were correct!

Whilst many are apprehensive about what the new technology will mean for the education sector, there are of course some positives that it could bring. Experts have expressed that the main benefit at the moment is that the tech is able to create more personalised learning experiences for students, and also time-saving for teachers where processes are able to be automated.³

Commenting on the experiment, Dr Richard Anderson said: “Whilst it’s concerning that 60% of teachers struggled to correctly identify where AI had been used, many of the teachers involved had not encountered AI before, and we’re confident that with awareness and exposure, teachers will be able to correctly spot it more frequently. Free and easy access to software such as ChatGPT and other bots is still a relatively new phenomenon, so there is bound to be a period of adjustment for teachers and educators.

“There are positives from the experiment, including that there are several telltale signs that teachers can use to spot where a student may have used AI to create their work. As these technologies continue to evolve, educators will have to continue to develop their skills and training to ensure that children are still receiving the best education they can.”

What do you think? Are you concerned about AI posing a threat to the education sector? Let us know on Twitter!