YouGov survey splits opinions on students using AI for coursework

One in six adults thought reducing or removing coursework would be the best way for schools to avoid the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI), according to a YouGov survey.

The poll, which was commissioned by Cambridge University Press and Assessment, said 89% of adults thought it was “unacceptable” for pupils to use AI, but almost half said it was acceptable for improving punctuation and grammar.

It came after Jill Duffy, the chief executive of exam board OCR, called for a co-ordinated national strategy on AI.

“The public is clear that coursework is too important to lose, even in the age of AI,” Ms Duffy said.

The poll of 2,221 UK adults found 46% agreed with using AI for punctuation and grammar in school coursework, but 44% did not.

Only 16% thought reducing or removing coursework completed at home was the best way to avoid student AI misuse.

Ms Duffy called for a strategy on AI after an independent curriculum and assessment review said it would consider reducing the “overall volume of assessment” at GCSE.

An interim report, published in March, said the review had heard about the “risks” to standards and fairness concerning AI in relation to coursework.

The review, which was chaired by education expert Becky Francis, will publish its final recommendations in the autumn.

Ms Duffy said the findings should be seen as a challenge to find a way to “adapt coursework so it is fit for the AI century”.

“AI is already in our schools and is not going away,” she said.

“A co-ordinated national strategy, with funding to ensure no schools are left behind, will build public confidence in its transformational potential.

“[AI] enables us to test different skills, and to reduce the intense volume of exams taken at 16.”

The YouGov survey, which was carried out in June, suggested more than three in five UK adults also oppose teachers using AI to mark coursework, but 27% support it.