- 70% of UK teachers say AI is vital to students’ future prospects
- Traditional GCSE and A-Levels could face radical overhaul as research reveals demand for new assessment methods
- 62% of parents call for changes to outdated exam systems
- FindTutors outlines five progressive assessment models for the digital age
FindTutors, a prominent UK tutoring provider powered by GoStudent, is calling for an overhaul of the current exam system as new findings show it no longer meets the needs of today’s AI-driven society.
As the school year comes to a close, the latest Future of Education Report 2025 highlights growing dissatisfaction with traditional examinations. With the rise of AI, 62% of parents believe new forms of assessment are now necessary. Alarmingly, 16% of students have used AI to write essays and 21% to help them succeed in exams – casting doubt over the reliability of existing formats.
Parents are increasingly questioning whether grades still offer an accurate picture of a student’s capabilities. Nearly six in ten (59%) say they don’t, while 58% argue that current methods overemphasise rote memorisation at the expense of critical thinking – a skill set seen as vital in tomorrow’s workforce.
The study suggests that long-established qualifications like GCSEs, A-Levels and Scotland’s National Qualifications may soon be reimagined. An overwhelming 84% of teachers say they support simulation-based assessments that reflect real-life problem-solving rather than traditional written tests.
Portfolio-based evaluation is also being considered a more robust way to track student progress, enabling learners to compile meaningful work throughout their education. This approach not only reflects broader academic development but also ties into findings from the National Bureau of Economic Research, which point to the rising importance of soft skills. In support, 64% of parents believe these human-centric traits will grow even more critical as AI becomes more embedded in daily life – yet they are often overlooked by current testing methods.
Albert Clemente, CEO at FindTutors, outlines five alternative assessment methods that educational institutions should consider implementing to better measure student talent in today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape:
- Simulation-based assessment (74% teacher support): Students demonstrate knowledge by making decisions in real-world scenarios, an approach already widely used in healthcare education.
- Portfolio assessment (69% teacher support): Students build up a digital collection of work over time, allowing for a comprehensive view of progress rather than measuring performance on a single day.
- Peer and self-assessment (67% teacher support): Students evaluate their own work and that of classmates, developing critical thinking skills and deeper understanding of assessment criteria.
- Learning analytics (66% teacher support): ‘Big data’ assesses all student work across digital platforms, providing insights into learning patterns and progress that traditional exams cannot capture.
- AI-based adaptive testing (63% teacher support): Personalised assessment adjusts to individual abilities, providing more accurate measurement of capabilities by tailoring difficulty levels to each student.
“Traditional essays and exams have been the cornerstone of education for more than a century, but our research clearly shows that both teachers and parents recognise the need for change. In particular, with 35% of teachers stating students cheat by using AI and 26% believing technology has made traditional assessments redundant, we need to rethink how we evaluate learning,” Clemente said.
With nearly half (41%) of teachers stating exams rely too heavily on memorising facts and 34% believing they create undue stress, the call for new assessment methods comes at a crucial time for UK education.
The research also found that 71% of teachers believe access to AI should be supervised rather than banned, highlighting the need to adapt assessment methods to the digital reality students now inhabit.
