In a recent article about student assessment and AI, Olivia Mair (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore) discusses the importance of looking to non-Anglophone cultures for other evaluation options. While some writers from Australia and the US have proposed a “return” to what they call the “medieval” practice of oral exams, Mair writes that Italian and German universities never moved away from oral assessment. Reflecting on her experience at an Italian institution, Mair describes the benefits of oral exams—such as how they allow teachers to better understand students’ reasoning—as well as the challenges around time, human resources, and design considerations for these exams.
University World News
