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427 points JumpCrisscross | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.205s | source
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lwhi ◴[] No.41901852[source]
It is no longer effective to solely use a written essay to measure how deeply a student comprehends a subject.

AI is here to stay; new methods should be used to assess student performance.

I remember being told at school, that we weren't allowed to use calculators in exams. The line provided by teachers was that we could never rely on having a calculator when we need it most—obviously there's irony associated with having 'calculators' in our pockets 24/7 now.

We need to accept that the world has changed; I only hope that we get to decide how society responds to that change together .. rather than have it forced upon us.

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red_admiral ◴[] No.41902446[source]
> It is no longer effective to solely use a written essay to measure how deeply a student comprehends a subject.

It never was. It's just even more ineffective now that AI exists, than before.

The central example of this is college admissions statements. Some kids have the advantage both of parents who can afford to give them the experiences that look good on such an essay (educational trips to Africa, lessons in two musical instruments, one-on-one golf coaching, that kind of thing), and who can hire tutors to "support" them in writing the essay. AI just makes the tutor part accessible/affordable for a wider segment of the population.

It would be naive to assume that, pre-AI, there was not a "gray" essay-coaching market as well as the "dark" essay-writing as a service market. That market still works better than AI in many cases.

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johnisgood ◴[] No.41902762[source]
It is not so black and white though: there is a difference between having your whole essay written by a tutor, or having some things corrected by the tutor, or the tutor giving you general tips that you yourself apply.
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1. red_admiral ◴[] No.41904065[source]
Oh, I completely agree. In some cases, discussing a draft with your _university-appointed_ tutor before submitting your final essay is even part of the assignment (I believe Oxford/Cambridge humanities work this way), and a great learning experience, and a way for people who can't afford private tutors to get the same kind of coaching (how you get into this calibre of university in the first place notwithstanding).