Written by Alimat Aliyeva
With the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT, American universities are increasingly reintroducing oral exams as a way to more reliably evaluate students.
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Educators say written take-home assignments have become “too perfect” while many students struggle to clearly explain and defend their work. This trend has raised concerns about the decline in students’ critical thinking skills and ability to independently analyze information.
In response, more and more institutions are returning to oral exams, where students must present and defend their work directly in front of professors. Cornell University professor Chris Schaefer said, “You can’t pass an oral exam with the help of AI.”
At the University of Pennsylvania, oral exams are currently being conducted in parallel with written assignments. Associate Professor Emily Hammer emphasized that the aim is not only to prevent cheating, but also to rebuild important academic skills such as creativity, reasoning and independent thinking.
Similarly, New York University expanded oral assessment through presentations, in-class questions, and interactive discussions. Some instructors are experimenting with AI in constructive ways, such as using chatbots to simulate oral exams and ask students follow-up questions in real time.
Interest in oral exams has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic and especially since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022. Universities are now actively exploring new ways to assess true understanding rather than algorithm-assisted results.
Experts argue that oral exams not only reveal how well students understand the material, but also encourage deeper learning. Students often prepare more thoroughly knowing that they will have to explain concepts in their own words, rather than relying on sophisticated AI-generated text.
