The DOI matches its Crossref record; 14 of the 14 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Talk is cheap: why structural assessment changes are needed for a time of GenAI
Open accessAbstract
Generative AI (GenAI) challenges assessment validity by enabling students to complete tasks without demonstrating genuine capability. In response to this challenge, institutions have developed and implemented various approaches that aim to communicate permissible AI use to students. Familiar examples include the ‘traffic light’ approach now commonly found within institutional policy. While well-intentioned, these approaches share a common limitation: They focus primarily on communicating rules rather than redesigning assessment mechanics. To clarify why such approaches fail, and to guide more effective responses, this paper introduces a novel conceptual distinction between discursive changes to assessment (modifications relying solely on instructions students remain free to ignore) and structural changes (modifications that reshape the underlying mechanics of assessment tasks themselves). Through a critical analysis of prominent frameworks, we demonstrate that current approaches predominantly rely on discursive changes that create what we term an ‘enforcement illusion’. We find that educational frameworks frequently borrow the language of socially familiar structural systems (like vehicular traffic lights) while lacking their actual enforcement capabilities, creating an illusion of assessment security. In place of this, we argue for a shift towards structural assessment redesign that builds validity into assessment architecture rather than attempting to impose it through unen…
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“This limitation is further reflected in the reliance on discursive measures, such as traffic-light systems and GenAI-use declarations, which signal expectations without shaping students' approaches to assessment tasks (Corbin et al., 2025).”
From Beyond unstructured use: scaffolded integration of generative AI in assessment for learning (2026) · cites this paper as Corbin et al., 2025
In the citing paper
“This aligns with structural redesign recommendations in AI-assessment literature (Corbin et al., 2025b).”
From OTE Reconstructing the Assessment System of the Undergraduate Course “Plant Physiology” in the AI Era: A Framework for Authentic and AI-Resilient Task Design (2026) · cites this paper as Corbin et al., 2025b
Citations
Cites
Sustainable Assessment: Rethinking assessment for the learning society
Boud, D. (2000) · Studies in Continuing Education · doi:10.1080/713695728 · Cited by 1,545
Perkins, M., Furze, L., Roe, J., & MacVaugh, J. (2024) · Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice · doi:10.53761/q3azde36 · Cited by 291 · cited 2×
“However, this approach would only be viable if reliable AI detection technology existed, which it currently does not (Perkins et al. 2024b; Ardito 2024).”
Validity matters more than cheating
Dawson, P., Bearman, M., Dollinger, M., & Boud, D. J. (2024) · Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education · doi:10.1080/02602938.2024.2386662 · Cited by 227
Self-citationDalalah, D., & Dalalah, O. M. A. (2023) · The International Journal of Management Education · doi:10.1016/j.ijme.2023.100822 · Cited by 218
Gonsalves, C. (2025) · Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education · doi:10.1080/02602938.2024.2415654 · Cited by 212 · cited 1×
“…that up to 74% of students did not complete the AI declaration appropriately, with many fearing that admitting AI use might be perceived negatively (Gonsalves 2024). many universities, including Cambridge and Princeton take a stricter approach, classifying unde-clared AI use as a form of…”
Simple techniques to bypass GenAI text detectors: implications for inclusive education
Perkins, M., Roe, J., Vu, B. H., Postma, D., Hickerson, D., McGaughran, J., & Khuat, H. Q. (2024) · International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education · doi:10.1186/s41239-024-00487-w · Cited by 117
Nikolic, S., Wentworth, I., Sheridan, L., Moss, S., Duursma, E., Jones, R. A., Ros, M., & Middleton, R. (2024) · Australasian Journal of Educational Technology · doi:10.14742/ajet.9643 · Cited by 102
Evading Watermark based Detection of AI-Generated Content
Jiang, Z., Zhang, J., & Gong, N. Z. (2023) · ACM SIGSAC Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS) · doi:10.1145/3576915.3623189 · Cited by 97
‘Where’s the line? It’s an absurd line’: Towards a framework for acceptable uses of AI in assessment
Corbin, T., Dawson, P., Nicola-Richmond, K., & Partridge, H. (2025) · Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education · doi:10.1080/02602938.2025.2456207 · Cited by 96
Self-citationValidity: one word with a plurality of meanings
St‐Onge, C., Young, M. E., Eva, K. W., & Hodges, B. D. (2016) · Advances in Health Sciences Education · doi:10.1007/s10459-016-9716-3 · Cited by 91
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Perkins, M., J. Roe, B. H. Vu, D. Postma, D. Hickerson, J. McGaughran, and H. Q. Khuat. 2024b. “GenAI Detection Tools, Adversarial Techniques and Implications for Inclusivity in Higher Education.” arXiv Preprint arXiv:2403.19148. · arXiv
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 101–110 of 110
Show your working: ergative assessment for knowledge-building
Whitworth, A., & Soliman, D. (2026) · Teaching in Higher Education · doi:10.1080/13562517.2026.2735430
Doing the right things right: applying Drucker’s framework for education-focused roles
Dollinger, M., Broadbent, J., Fawns, T., Liu, D., & White, A. W. (2026) · Teaching in Higher Education · doi:10.1080/13562517.2026.2746683
Self-citationUndheim, T. A., Malik, M. Q., & Hashmi, N. (2026) · SoftwareX · doi:10.1016/j.softx.2026.103125
Kelly, L. C., Istratoaie, A., Dowling, L. J., & Ward, S. A. (2026) · Journal of Bioethical Inquiry · doi:10.1007/s11673-025-10530-8
Nadder, H. M. H., & Patterson, B. J. (2026) · Nurse Educator · doi:10.1097/nne.0000000000002303
Generative AI, Friend or Foe: Exploring GenAI Use for Supporting Diverse Student Needs
Wang, Y., Bown, A., Albinson, P., Fan, S., & Khara, A. (2026) · Young people and learning processes in school and everyday life · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-32479-5_13
Peirats, A., & Moreno, F. (2026) · Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education · doi:10.1080/02602938.2026.2752112
KALECİ, F. (2026) · Advances in computational intelligence and robotics book series · doi:10.4018/979-8-2600-0373-2.ch004
Mlinarić, Z., & Özkaya, A. B. (2026) · FEBS Open Bio · doi:10.1002/2211-5463.70359
Atorough, P. T., & Hajikazemi, S. (2026) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-11016438/v1
Metadata
- Authors
- Corbin, T., Dawson, P., & Liu, D.
- Affiliations
- Deakin University (AU)
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Corbin, Thomas
- Venue
- Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2025-05-15
- Volume
- 50
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 1087-1097
- ISSN
- 0260-2938 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-297X
- OpenAlex
- W4410403683
- Cited by
- 107
- References
- 14
- Citations by year
- 2026: 89 · 2025: 18
- FWCI
- 111.30
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Academic integrity and plagiarism
- Social Sciences › Education › Artificial Intelligence in Education
- Social Sciences › Education › Student Assessment and Feedback
- Keywords
- generative AI, assessment validity, discursive change, AI policy in higher education, student use of AI
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review