Assessing Writing in the ChatGPT World
With the rise of chat bot artificial intelligence, there is a need to rethink how and when we use writing as a tool for assessing student knowledge and learning. As John Warner, a writing instructor and consultant explains, this is not a new problem but the AI has made plain a weakness that’s always been present in how we assess student writing. Specifically, we tend to mistake surface-level fluency with having learned the material.
Warner shares his story from his college days in the 1980s, where he used his writing skills to avoid learning. He would sign up for classes that had short response papers or research papers with a base level of writing fluency, allowing him to score decent grades without actually knowing the material. With AI like ChatGPT, this surface-level fluency is no longer reliable for determining if a student has learned.
Reconsidering Assessment Practices
So, how can we address this problem? First, we need to design writing assignments that are engaging and are tied to authentic occasions for learning, making them more meaningful for students. Second, we need to assess writing according to the qualities that mark human-produced thought and synthesis, by holding students accountable for their own understanding through the use of metacognitive reflection. This can be achieved by setting the bar high and helping students keep going back to the task until they achieve it.
Thirdly, we can integrate technology into how we teach writing, making it a creative and productive tool for students to use. Fourthly, we can consider not assigning out-of-class writing as part of an assessment where the purpose is merely to elicit the capture and understanding of pre-existing knowledge or information. This is because students may not see the value in learning the material for themselves, making the conditions for academic dishonesty ripe.
However, the challenge is deeper than just policing student behavior or cracking down on violators. It’s up to us to create an atmosphere that is genuinely conducive to learning and then rewards that learning through our approaches to assessment. This requires continuous evolution and adaptation, especially as AI makes its way further into our lives.
