Online Evaluation : My scandalous (?) take

The Covid-19 debacle introduced quite a few problems into our placid lives : flipping our breakfast dosa before it became a dosa brûlé (not the same as a crème brulée, I can assure you) while on a call with our client from Timbuktu; changing diapers even as we discussed the merits of mask-wearing with stubborn family members who thought masks were optional, and for teachers, the very special challenge of conducting an exam online.

Six years down the line, the issue has snowballed out of proportion. Every time I hear discussions on holding tests online, I hear the same tirade.

They just copy entire paragraphs from Google Translate / ChatGPT / Gemini / <generic latest LLM> !

Their cameras are off ! How will we know what they are upto ?

All exams need to be offline!

All valid points and frustrating, I admit. Yet, one thought that always comes to my mind as I listen is, what if we start out with the premise that they WILL copy? With advancing technology, even in a physical exam, students have a WIDE variety of options to cheat, should they choose to (and sometimes systems make it easier to copy in a 'neat' fashion, sorry couldn't resist the dig!). Isn't it easier to shift the focus from testing the end product and develop better strategies to evaluate the process instead ?

There are a few strategies that can be easily put in place to reduce cheating in an online exam and by reducing the stakes of the test altogether. I'd like to put out a disclaimer before I get into the nitty-gritties : these solutions are not for school students, most school exams happen on campus anyway. I am mainly speaking from the perspective of freelance tutors, especially language tutors (that's my area of expertise, or maybe not - who knows where this article will take me, LOL) who take classes online, either one-one or in a group.

Before beginning any evaluation online, repeat this mantra to yourself :

THEY WILL USE AI. THEY WILL COPY.

Take as many long breaths as necessary to come back to functioning capacity, Now, start.

#1 Stop assigning long writing tasks in an online test.

From my observation, this is by far the section that drives students by the hordes to AI. We must stop treating writing as a performance, and begin to view it for it is, a means of communication. Instead of asking students to write a paragraph on "My House", provide the paragraph. and ask them to make stylistic changes to it. Ask them to replace certain words with a better synonym. Make it a 'Find the Error'challenge. Yes, some of them will STILL use AI. But because your paragraph is just a small percentage of the entire test, it's truly their loss.

#2 Observe writing throughout the session and provide verbal feedback.

Even the smallest scrap that they write in class matters. Every chat message, every text they send you to say they'll be late / absent, OBSERVE. That's their writing style and it's authentic. Even if they are learning a different language with you, patterns don't change. This will help you guage their work better in the final test.

Make sure you talk to students about their performance, orally. Don't just send them marks out of 5 for a paragraph writing. Tell them what went wrong, what was good, what could have been better. That's powerful language modeling as well.

#3 Make copying difficult

This can be done through dedicated testing applications (if you or your workplace can afford it), mastering Forms well to reduce cheating (shuffling questions, marking certain questions as obligatory, and so on) . Sometimes even simple things like creating images of your questions in PDF format, which will take them longer to copy onto an LLM window or Translate) works wonders. Include questions with a number of small steps. Even if they use AI, you'll easily spot it. Include questions that elicit an opinion, even in grammar.

For example,

Which of these sounds better, 'He was writing furiously'or 'He was furiously writing.'

AI will send them on a nice wild goose chase and you'll have the last laugh. There, didn't that feel good ?

#4 Demysticize AI.

One of the best ways to cure an addiction is to use it obsessively. Try and include tasks using AI in your everyday routine. For example, you could make two groups and have one group write using AI and the other without, then compare the two versions. This is so linguistically rewarding.

Another brilliant idea is to ask them to provide the AI prompt in the target language to produce a certain text. It's a great way to see how well they understand coherence and structure in writing

AI is a tool like so many others, we also need to educate and be educated about its use.

#5 Don't become their parent.

You're NOT their moral guardian. An adult who is learning a foreign language needs to build accountability for their own actions. You cannot lecture them into not copying or by threatening them by cutting marks. Trust me, I have tried and failed. The morality of their cheating is NOT on you. Evaluate what they present to you, even if it's AI generated drivel. Life will teach them the moral, not you. Do your job of teaching well and evaluate what you receive. Peace !

P.S : Teaching is like parenting, I have realised, and EVERY strategy (assuming it's not abusive) works when implemented with intention and love. I know my take sounds irresponsible, but I have tried many of these strategies and I know they work. I'd love to discuss things that went right with you and challenges as well. We never truly arrive. :)

Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.

Without her you wouldn't have set out.

She has nothing left to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.

Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,

you’ll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

C. P. Cavafy, "The City" from C.P. Cavafy: Collected Poems. Translated by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard.