How AI Accelerates Exam Administration
Normally, it takes a teacher about half an hour to draft exam questions in middle school, upper secondary school, or other educational settings, unless they use old exam questions from the testing system (learning platform). The thought process also consumes so-called latent time, after which the questions are uploaded or written into the exam platform.
Correcting an exam takes an experienced teacher about 4–5 minutes (for 4 different text assignments), assuming the process flows smoothly. The conceptual work, planning, and scoring required for the exam is a demanding process and cannot really be done without a structured system. Unexpected issues arise during exam checking, forcing the teacher to adjust their scoring scale. If the scoring scale changes mid-correction, previously reviewed exams must also be re-checked.
Assessment is a creative process, and the human brain is a superior way to perform checking when the volume is not too large. The brain is appropriately pedantic while simultaneously grasping the whole (the average exam result is latent in the mind, and it’s also observed which topics are mastered and which are not).
Checking exams for a group of 30 students takes about 2.5, maybe 3 hours. However, the checking work cannot be done in one sitting; one must take breaks and continue later. With all corrections and re-checks, the total time spent on an exam might double to 5 or even 6 hours. At worst, a teacher may use all weekday evenings for checking.
Automatic (Pre-)Checking Streamlines Work!
AI-assisted exam pre-checking provides the teacher directly with an assessment suggestion. The teacher checks the result parameters and approves or modifies the pre-check. Time spent is conservatively estimated at 0.5–3 minutes per exam, depending on the length of the answer and whether the pre-check needs modification. Calculated this way, the time spent is 1.25 hours. Even if the advantage of AI is undeniable, one must be critical and understand that to save time without sacrificing quality, one must learn to use the pre-check effectively.
The greatest benefit is that the assignment can be scaled, meaning it can be reused infinitely. Simultaneously, the assignment can be developed, or different variations can easily be created from it.
If fluent use is not achieved after practice, one can ask for assistance. It is also important to acknowledge if, for one’s own part, the use of AI is not beneficial, at least for now. Therefore, it is crucial to experiment and form one’s own understanding. Content and courses change, and perhaps in the next phase, pre-checking might become useful.
You can also watch a video on the topic using this link: https://youtu.be/wdFUVFzU7oU?si=tNFsS_uqaJG_eMvH
