Test Scores Plunge from 96% to 48% Without AI
The Decoder · rss · 2026-07-12
The Decoder reports on a classroom experience shared by an economics professor at Brown University. Suspecting heavy AI usage during a take-home exam where the class averaged a remarkable 96%, he switched the final to an in-person format. Consequently, 18 students dropped the class and 9 failed to attend, causing the class average to plummet to 48.6%.
The article references two large-scale studies from China and UC Berkeley that echo this observation:
- Students who relied more heavily on AI for assignments experienced a notable decline in proctored exam scores.
- This suggests that while AI can help complete coursework, it may also mask actual mastery of the material.
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