Eastbourne headteacher says AI should be used in exams

Tom Lawson, head of Eastbourne College, told the Telegraph that he thinks artificial intelligence should be used in GCSE exams to stretch the brightest pupils.

This modern way of testing pupils would mean questions could be modified to tease out a student’s level of understanding, the Telegraph said.

Strong candidates could demonstrate ‘ever higher levels of understanding – making the process much more rewarding and able to give credit for those who have skills way above the expected level’, Mr Lawson told the Telegraph.

Meanwhile, struggling pupils would be given ‘more opportunities to showcase their understanding’, the Telegraph reported.

“With adaptive testing, if someone is finding it hard to access the exam, instead of becoming overwhelmed and having some [pupils] virtually giving up, the questions get easier. And if someone is really flying, the questions get harder,” Mr Lawson told the national paper.

Mr Lawson also believes AI would be ‘far superior’ at marking, according to the report.

“[AI] doesn’t get tired at the end of the day, it doesn’t get bored of marking the same question over and over again,” he said.

"And you can take the best human markers, and use them for the appeals to check if the AI made a mistake, and then use that resource much more efficiently than we have at the moment.”

The Telegraph reported that, in 2023, the public school requested remarks for around 45 entries. About 15 grades were changed, with several being changed by more than one grade.