Assessment in an AI World:
Assessment in an AI World:
How do we KNOW they are doing the thinking?
How do we KNOW they are doing the thinking?
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1. "Who’s Doing the Thinking Here?" Rethinking Math Assessments in the Age of AI
1. "Who’s Doing the Thinking Here?" Rethinking Math Assessments in the Age of AI
If your students are suddenly turning in flawless math homework with suspiciously elegant justifications—or if you're grading an assignment that sounds more like it was written by a chatbot than one of your students—you’re not alone. Welcome to teaching in the Age of AI, where the calculators got smarter, the solving apps more available, the writing got slicker, and the age-old question haunts us louder than ever: How do we know they’re actually doing the thinking?
But fear not, fellow educators! This isn’t about catching cheaters—it’s about shifting our focus. The game has changed, and so must our assessments. Let’s move away from answers and lean into process. Let’s reward thinking over output. And yes, let’s make it personal.
Check out the graphic below for some fresh ways to assess your students that not only outsmart the bots, but empower your learners to reflect, synthesize, and actually show what they know—because they know it.
II. STOP Grading Everything! Focus on Real-Time Assessment
II. STOP Grading Everything! Focus on Real-Time Assessment
Prioritize assessing student work in real time. If you're reviewing assignments that are more than a week old, it may be better to skip them. Delayed feedback—especially more than a week later—is often ineffective for adolescents. Instead, use these three strategies to provide timely, meaningful feedback:
1. Use Inquiry Tasks with Built-In Feedback
Incorporate self-checking activities or whole-class feedback during the lesson. Tools like Desmos and GeoGebra offer ready-made tasks that support this approach. If students are working in teams, they’ll often give each other feedback naturally and immediately.
2. Turn Group Tasks into Feedback Opportunities
During BTC (Building Thinking Classrooms) tasks, have groups visit each other and leave feedback—praise, suggestions, or questions—while the activity is in progress. As the teacher, provide whole-class feedback based on what you observe. Take photos as evidence. If time allows, write a brief summary and send one message per team with your feedback.
3. Use Auto-Graded Digital Tools for Larger Assessments
For more formal assessments, rely on digital platforms that auto-score. This limits your time to only reviewing key items that need personal feedback. Save extended feedback and evaluation for BTC tasks where students are actively engaging in deep thinking.
Keep It Manageable
You don’t need to assess everything. Choose one key task per day to focus on. You’re not required to document all feedback, but do take notes on any outliers—students who may need additional support or follow-up.
Reclaim Your Time
If grading is taking over your day, stop. Your most valuable work lies in understanding your content, analyzing how your students think, and planning how to move them forward. Exhaustive grading doesn’t lead to growth—it just leads to burnout.
Resource: Susan Carriker @techknowmath
To read more about changing your curriculum to adapt ro AI, check out A.J. Juliani's article
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