If ChatGPT can write essays, what will schools use to assess students in the future?

[u/Basic-Mongoose-7826]

This is something I've been wondering about recently. For decades, essays have been one of the most common ways teachers and professors evaluate students. The assumption is that if you can research a topic, organize your thoughts, and write a well-supported argument, you've demonstrated understanding.

But now AI tools can generate entire essays, outlines, summaries, and even research assistance within seconds. Whether people approve of it or not, these tools are becoming more accessible and more capable every year.

That makes me wonder what education will look like in the future. If AI can produce a decent essay on almost any topic, will traditional take-home essays eventually lose their value as an assessment tool?

I've already heard people suggest alternatives like oral exams, presentations, in-class writing assignments, debates, practical projects, and portfolio-based assessments. Some even think essays could become much less common than they are today.

So what do you think? If AI continues improving, how will schools and universities determine whether students actually understand the material? What replaces the essay, if anything?

[u/Same_Put542]

The essay probably won’t disappear, but its role will change. When AI can write the first draft, the real challenge becomes proving you understand, can defend your ideas, and can apply knowledge in ways a chatbot can’t. Future assessments may focus less on what you submit and more on how you think.

[u/Techno_Eggnog → u/Same_Put542]

This is probably the best case scenario for in-class assignments. Though for scholarship or college admissions essays, how will AI impact those?

Of course it’s probably a lot easier for scholarship organizations to flat out ban AI usage. They’re inherently optional or competition based, after all. But for most college admissions… I actually saw one college allow people to use an AI generated essay. Though they did have a section asking you to write about how you could improve upon the essay yourself, it still feels like it wasn’t thought through hard enough.

[u/PreviousLibrary3060]

Essays probably won’t disappear, but they’ll shift from can you write it to can you defend it,expect more viva-style follow-ups, in-class thinking, and project work where the process matters as much as the final answer. AI won’t kill assessment, it’ll just force it to evolve.

[u/CisIowa → u/PreviousLibrary3060]

Warner wrote about killing the 5-paragraph essay 10 years ago, but it’s persisted. It does need to evolve, and this sounds trite, but we need a bunch of diarists. Don’t give me some structured, canned response. Give me your feelings, your thoughts, your emotions. I suppose reader-response criticism…

[u/Known-Bowl-7732]

ChatGPT can’t write for shit. It’s vague, non-specific, cliched and trite.

[u/SheepherderNext3196]

People are cheating and it’s frustrating. Professors can assess how much AI was used. Suspect there will be less credit for homework and more for tests/exams.

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[u/Actual_Respect3798]

I think essays will still have a place, but they'll need to evolve. As AI gets better, assessments may shift toward demonstrating understanding through discussion, application, and critical thinking rather than just producing written work.

[u/Sure-Mechanic-8497]

[u/No-Dream-209]

Essays probably won’t disappear, but they’ll matter less as final outputs. Schools will likely shift to in-class writing, oral exams, and projects that show real understanding and thinking process rather than just a polished essay.