红桃影视

Sixth-formers should take an additional subject in year 12 assessed solely by speaking tests to broaden the curriculum while curbing the risk of AI chatbot cheating, a think tank has said.

A report from also recommended that the extended project qualification should become compulsory, but be ungraded, and sixth-form funding should be increased to expand the curriculum as they grapple with the rise of generative AI systems such as ChatGPT.

The development of more sophisticated 鈥済enerative鈥� AI has prompted widespread concern in education, albeit alongside hope that such technology could have a positive impact on teacher workload. Exam boards and the government recently published guidance for schools on its use.

Today, EDSK, which is run by Tom Richmond a former Department for Education adviser, warned written exams must 鈥渃ontinue to be the main method of assessing students鈥� knowledge and understanding鈥�.

鈥淚n contrast, placing a greater emphasis on coursework and other forms of 鈥榯eacher assessment鈥� would increase teachers鈥� workload and lead to less reliable grades that may be biased against students from disadvantaged backgrounds.鈥�

There was 鈥渘o realistic prospect鈥� of teachers, headteachers or exam boards being able to consistently detect malpractice, making coursework-style tasks unsuitable for A-levels and other high-stakes exams.

Exams don’t reflect ‘wider skills’

However, EDSK has also recommended some changes to the qualifications pupils sit in the sixth form, warning that written exams 鈥渇ocus on testing students鈥� knowledge and understanding in written form in a silent exam hall, rather than reflecting the wider skills that many employers and universities prize鈥�.

To broaden the curriculum and develop a 鈥渨ider range of skills than those promoted by written exams鈥�, students aged 16 to 19 taking classroom-based courses 鈥渟hould be required to take one additional subject in year 12鈥�. This would be 鈥渆xamined entirely through an oral assessment鈥�.

To ensure students could develop their research and writing skills beyond exams, the think tank also said the extended project qualification should be made compulsory.

However, it should be used as a 鈥渓ow-stakes skills development programme鈥�, and should 鈥渢herefore be ungraded鈥�.

To allow schools to expand their curriculum to include the additional subject and extended project, per-pupil funding for sixth forms should rise by 拢200 a year to reach 拢6,000 by 2030.

Richmond said the best way to produce rigorous and credible grades while guarding against malpractice, 鈥減articularly when faced with increasingly sophisticated AI鈥�, was to keep written exams but add in new challenges to help students develop a broader range of skills.

鈥淭he future of assessment for A-level students should therefore be a combination of written exams and oral exams alongside an independent research project of their choice.鈥�