Bavarian teachers' association wants to ditch traditional grades because of AI
Artificial intelligence, or AI, is posing a challenge for schools in Germany, leading the Bavarian Teachers' Association (BLLV) to call for a rapid reform of the grading system used at German schools.
"I believe that AI's speedy development prevents us from continuing to slowly develop the ways in which we assess performance. We need to realise that our grading system is old school," BLLV president Simone Fleischmann told the German Press Agency in Munich.
On Friday, the news emerged that some Hamburg students were suspected of having used AI programmes and ChatGPT to cheat in their Abitur exams. According to the Ministry of Education, there have not yet been any similar suspected cases in Bavaria.
"The way our school system works ... is now reaching its limit. That has to do with the fact that we have just remained at a standstill," said Fleischmann.
"We still want to [be able to] select and sort [students] and give grades. But in the future we will have to judge the processes and not the result," the BLLV president added.
READ ALSO: 'Alarming': How children in Germany are lagging behind on reading skills
But Bavaria's Minister of Education, Michael Piazolo, is skeptical about this.
"I believe we need grades and that many students want grades. You need a record of achievement to know for yourself how you're doing in individual subjects," he told German press agency DPA on Saturday.
The Association of German Secondary School Teachers (VDR) is also not convinced.
"Grades and AI are mutually exclusive? The logic behind these supposed findings is not clear," said VDR national chairman Jürgen Böhm.
READ ALSO: 'Room for improvement': How Germany's schools compare to the rest of Europe
"Grades should be abolished just because digital devices weren't checked during exams in Hamburg? It has been the responsibility of the ministries and, ultimately, teachers to take special precautions during exams since the advent of pocket calculators that could display graphics at the latest." he added.
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"I believe that AI's speedy development prevents us from continuing to slowly develop the ways in which we assess performance. We need to realise that our grading system is old school," BLLV president Simone Fleischmann told the German Press Agency in Munich.
On Friday, the news emerged that some Hamburg students were suspected of having used AI programmes and ChatGPT to cheat in their Abitur exams. According to the Ministry of Education, there have not yet been any similar suspected cases in Bavaria.
"The way our school system works ... is now reaching its limit. That has to do with the fact that we have just remained at a standstill," said Fleischmann.
"We still want to [be able to] select and sort [students] and give grades. But in the future we will have to judge the processes and not the result," the BLLV president added.
READ ALSO: 'Alarming': How children in Germany are lagging behind on reading skills
But Bavaria's Minister of Education, Michael Piazolo, is skeptical about this.
"I believe we need grades and that many students want grades. You need a record of achievement to know for yourself how you're doing in individual subjects," he told German press agency DPA on Saturday.
The Association of German Secondary School Teachers (VDR) is also not convinced.
"Grades and AI are mutually exclusive? The logic behind these supposed findings is not clear," said VDR national chairman Jürgen Böhm.
READ ALSO: 'Room for improvement': How Germany's schools compare to the rest of Europe
"Grades should be abolished just because digital devices weren't checked during exams in Hamburg? It has been the responsibility of the ministries and, ultimately, teachers to take special precautions during exams since the advent of pocket calculators that could display graphics at the latest." he added.
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