Azernews.Az

By Alimat Aliyeva

American universities are increasingly reintroducing oral exams as a way to assess students more reliably amid the rapid spread of artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT, AzerNEWS reports.

Educators say that take-home written assignments have become “too perfect,” while many students struggle to clearly explain or defend their own work. This trend has raised concerns about declining critical thinking skills and students’ ability to analyze information independently.

In response, a growing number of institutions are returning to oral examinations, where students must present and defend their work directly in front of a professor. As Cornell University professor Chris Shaffer noted, “You can’t pass an oral exam with the help of AI.”

At University of Pennsylvania, oral exams are now being used alongside written assignments. Associate Professor Emily Hammer emphasized that the goal is not only to prevent cheating but also to rebuild essential academic skills such as creativity, reasoning, and independent thinking.

Similarly, New York University has expanded oral assessments through presentations, in-class questioning, and interactive discussions. Some instructors are even experimenting with AI in a constructive way—using chatbots to simulate oral exams and challenge students with follow-up questions in real time.

Interest in oral testing has surged since the COVID-19 pandemic and especially after the launch of ChatGPT in 2022. Universities are now actively exploring new methods to evaluate genuine understanding rather than algorithm-assisted results.

Experts argue that oral exams not only reveal how well students grasp the material but also encourage deeper learning. In many cases, students prepare more thoroughly, knowing they will need to explain concepts in their own words rather than rely on polished, AI-generated text.