Finnish high schools move essays under supervision as AI spreads

Many Finnish high schools now require students to complete most writing assignments under supervision to prevent artificial intelligence from affecting assessment, Yle reports. Schools are also teaching students how to use AI responsibly, while treating unauthorised use as cheating.

Yle asked principals at high schools in large cities about AI use. At Jyväskylä Lyseo, a high school, students said supervised work was fair because it helps ensure equal conditions and shows what students can do themselves.

“If you could access the internet during an exam, it would not be right for one person to cheat while another does not,” student Sani Yli-Jylhä said.

In many schools, essays and other written assignments are completed in supervised settings, and exams are taken using Abitti, a closed exam system used in Finnish matriculation examinations. Before AI became widely available, students often wrote essays at home.

Students said doing more work during lessons can also support their wellbeing by leaving more time for rest and leisure. Student Reino Rantanen said supervision helps teachers assess students’ actual skills.

Schools urged to teach AI use as well as set rules

Riikka Korosalmi, a biology and geography teacher and digital education specialist at Kuopio Classical High School, said students already face unequal conditions because schools differ widely in how they teach AI use. If some schools do not teach it, she warned, those differences could grow.

Students who understand what they need to do themselves can use AI to improve their work, Korosalmi said. Others may be tempted by the convenience and let the technology do the work for them.

Anne Rongas, a development manager and online education specialist at Otavia, an education organisation run by the City of Mikkeli, has drawn up AI guidance for high school teachers. She said schools should have clear, shared rules and teach students to use AI when it supports learning and thinking.

Rongas added that students’ ability to set goals and plan their work is still developing at high school age, so even good students may break rules. “Monitoring AI alone is not enough. High school’s role is to prepare young people for further studies and working life,” she said.

Marianna Sydämaanlakka, principal of Tikkurila High School, said students benefit from clear rules. Most lessons do not allow mobile phones because students benefit from concentrating on what they are learning. “The world has become faster, but learning difficult things has not,” she said.

AI skills seen as part of students’ future

A recent study by the University of Eastern Finland found that using AI can improve grades. Most principals also see AI as a tool that schools should help students use appropriately, while a small number of teachers would ban it entirely.

Miika Miinin, a specialist at Eduksi, an education development company in the City of Lappeenranta, said banning AI would be irresponsible because using it is becoming an essential skill for future citizens. Students will use AI anyway, he said, and adults have a responsibility to teach them how it can support their learning.

Miinin also questioned whether high school teaching should be built solely around the matriculation examinations. Korosalmi said schools have many opportunities to teach the skills students need for those exams.