Denmark tightens rules on secondary school students to prevent AI cheating

The new Danish measures include oral defences for written take-home exams, and monitoring tools for screen-use during in-school written tests. In Denmark, secondary school students are going back to school next week under stricter rules on their use of artificial intelligence (AI). On Thursday, Danish Education Minister Magnus Heunicke announced a set of immediate measures to tackle cheating with AI, including measures such as oral defences of written exam assignments and tools to monitor pupils’ screens during school tests. In a press release, Heunicke said that Danish upper secondary schools are facing increased problems with AI-assisted cheating, and therefore require prompt action. The first measure introduces oral exams for all written tests completed at home. The oral defence also applies to the SSO, a major written exam undertaken every year by about 9,000 upper secondary school students. In addition, upper secondary schools will also have to use monitoring tools to check screens during written exams. Schools will also be required to use a firewall filtering online content during teaching hours and exams. And as a third and final measure, upper secondary schools are encouraged to invite students to do assignments at school under controlled conditions. This, according to the ministry, will make it easier to monitor students’ processes, provide feedback and create a basis for an accurate assessment. “I will engage in dialogue with schools, teachers and students about what can be done in the short and slightly longer term, so that we can ensure that AI does not undermine students’ skills, academic abilities and, above all, their ability to think for themselves,” Heunicke said. These measures come from a country that has lately been trying to understand how to combine the inevitable use of AI by new generations with their education. Last year, for example, the country launched an experiment, allowing students to use AI during English oral tests in upper secondary schools. The country is also working on a broader national strategy to regulate AI across the entire education sector. This relationship between AI and education is also concerning for other European countries. Earlier this summer, Norway imposed a near-ban on the use of generative AI by elementary school pupils and also restricted their use in the education of older children. And the debate continues outside the political institutions. According to a study conducted by Eurobarometer, more than half of the European respondents, at around 54%, recognise that AI brings both benefits and challenges for teaching and learning and call for further exploration and assessment of those. While only 22% believe AI does not belong in the classroom**.**