Danish high schools call for urgent exam reforms in response to AI

Danish high schools are calling for significant changes to exams and grading to reflect the reality of widespread AI use among students, with the organisation Danske Gymnasier describing the need for reform as urgent, according to DR.

The organisation, which represents high schools across Denmark, says it has become increasingly difficult for teachers to assess students’ written skills now that many pupils use tools such as ChatGPT to complete homework assignments. The current cohort of final-year students — those now sitting their exams — have had AI available to them throughout their entire time in upper secondary education.

“It is very urgent. We want to make changes as quickly as possible,” said Maja Bødtcher-Hansen, chair of Danske Gymnasier and headteacher at Frederiksberg Gymnasium, describing the first AI-era graduation exams as a “day of reckoning.”

Among the proposed changes, Danske Gymnasier wants students to receive a single combined annual grade per subject, rather than separate grades for written and oral work. The organisation argues that separate written grades have become unreliable given AI use at home.

The group also proposes that AI be permitted during preparation for oral exams, while mandatory written exams should remain AI-free but be shortened from five hours to two hours.

“A module at upper secondary school is typically 90 minutes. We would be much better placed to prepare students for a two-hour exam than for five hours of independent work,” Bødtcher-Hansen said.

Asked whether the proposals simply amounted to giving in to AI, she rejected that framing. “No, because the most important thing is that students show they can write a coherent text entirely without assistance, and I genuinely believe that is also how they will end up working when they go on to further study,” she said.

Danske Gymnasier plans to present the proposals to the incoming education minister and parliamentary spokespersons once a new government is in place. A recent report cited by DR found that a majority of upper secondary students have admitted to using AI to cheat.