AI in Education Assessment: Responsible improvements for learner outcomes – without diminishing the role of the human

In recent years, the rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies has opened up new possibilities and aspirations. As a result, AI has been a buzzword on people’s lips, but what are the opportunities, benefits and risks of AI for within the global assessment market?

As one of the world’s leading digital assessment providers, RM is taking a long-term, proactive view of AI to ensure the integrity of assessment processes that utilise it, giving confidence to exam boards, awarding bodies, politicians, learners, and parents everywhere.

To lay the foundations and kick-start this approach, RM initiated two of its own Proof of Concept (PoC) projects focusing on English language testing; the first of these on the assessment of proficiency in English as a foreign language and the other on summative assessment of English language skills in schools.

We hope that this paper, announcing the results of the PoCs, illustrates RM’s approach to explore and evaluate the use of AI within assessment to:

• improve marking effectiveness and feedback quality for learners
• ensure consistency across grades
• enhance marking processes and teacher support

 -  all without introducing risk and without diminishing the role of the human.

These PoCs seek to illustrate the potential of AI and the opportunities it presents when used in a responsible manner to provide authentic experiences and continually improving learner outcomes.