The 88% Problem: Why Traditional Assessment is Broken in the AI Era
The Shift from Closed to Open Book Assessments
For years, closed-book examinations were the standard assessment method in schools and universities. Then the pandemic paused this as universities were tasked with grappling with a lockdown which effectively made closed-book examinations impossible. This led to the shift to open-book examinations. Whilst short-term these may have seemed a quick-fix for the pandemic period, the emergence of large language models capturing students' working processes, means the viability long-term for open-book examinations is questionable. In February 2025, HEPI released a groundbreaking statistic that revealed the true scale of this shift: 88% of UK undergraduate students now use AI specifically for assessments, with usage across all disciplines even higher.
The Cognitive Cost of AI Assistance
As useful as generative AI may be, this upturn in usage poses massive risks for assessment integrity. Students who heavily use generative AI have been found to engage in cognitive offloading processes during the writing stages. According to a recent MIT Media Lab study on cognitive debt and AI writing assistance, when LLM users consistently used generative AI tools during writing processes there was “less activation of top-down executive processes”.
Whilst VivaEdu is highly aware of the benefits of generative AI tools, we are also deeply concerned with the impact these tools can have on learning outcomes. The impact on cognitive offloading especially as we have already seen with the rise of the internet’s impacts on memory retention skills.
Research by Matthew Fisher (2021) demonstrates in his study ‘Information without knowledge: the effects of Internet search on learning’, students who accessed information through online search performed significantly worse on learning assessments compared to those who received the same information directly. Critically, those who searched online displayed higher confidence in their knowledge despite their poorer performance.
The Illusion of Learning
These findings point to a troubling disconnect between academic performance and actual learning. When students can produce high-quality work without engaging the neural processes necessary for knowledge retention and critical thinking. Educators face what researchers call the ‘illusion of learning’. Work that displays on paper evidence of strong critical reasoning but leaves students without deep understanding or transferable skills.
Workforce Implications
The implications extend far beyond schools’ and university walls. Graduates entering the workforce with AI-generated coursework may lack the critical thinking, independent problem-solving and communication skills employers desperately need. The issue isn’t fundamentally about academic dishonesty but rather a generation of students who have unknowingly outsourced the cognitive development that higher education is supposed to provide. When students can produce excellent written work without engaging the mental processes needed to build analytical capabilities we’re not only compromising academic integrity but failing to develop human capital. Traditional written assessments can no longer distinguish between student capability and AI assistance leaving employers unable to trust credentials and students unaware of their own knowledge gaps.
The VivaEdu Solution
Oral examination offers the only assessment method that cannot be completed by AI, requiring students to demonstrate real-time critical thinking, knowledge application and communication skills. VivaEdu is a digital platform that seamlessly integrates with educators’ LMS systems, enabling vivas - a traditionally labour-intensive assessment method - to be performed at scale and systematically. This provides institutions with a reliable way to restore assessment integrity while actively strengthening the skills that AI cannot replace, solving the illusion and strengthening human capital.
Therefore the choice at hand is clear: continue with assessments that are gamed by AI, or adopt the one method that requires authentic human thinking. VivaEdu makes this transition seamless, fully scalable and sustainable, removing all bottlenecks and enabling your class to remain free from the illusion of learning while eliminating any compromise of your institution's educational mission. Contact us today and check out our free online demo to discover how assessment can restore integrity and strengthen the critical thinking skills your students need to succeed! Try the free VivaEdu demo
Ben Arkus
CEO of VivaEdu