Higher Marks, Lower Learning? AI's Favourite Magic Trick

Higher Marks, Lower Learning? AI's Favourite Magic Trick

This week, Ray and Dan unpack a bumper collection of AI in education news and research, all pointing to one critical question: Is AI helping students learn…or just helping them score higher?

The episode begins with a striking case from Brown University, where a take-home exam averaged 96%, only for the same cohort to average 48% in a supervised final. From there, Ray and Dan explore what the latest research says about AI-assisted assessment, automated marking, AI tutors, critical thinking, and the growing importance of student agency.

They also discuss:

New evidence on AI marking compared with human examiners Research showing how guided AI tutoring can improve maths learning Why critical thinking is the biggest predictor of successful AI use The risks of "never-skilling" when students rely too heavily on AI AI detectors: what they can (and can't) reliably tell us New Australian data on AI's impact on employment The latest Digital Education Council survey of university students Online safety and the growing challenge of AI-assisted image abuse As always, the episode is packed with practical insights, research summaries, and plenty of discussion about what all this means for educators, schools and universities.

Links - News

Voice got an upgrade

https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-live/ Inside Higher Ed article: Brown Professor Suspects Majority of His Class Used AI to Cheat

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty/learning-assessment/2026/07/08/brown-professor-suspects-most-his-class-used-ai-cheat Digital Education Council AI in Higher Education Global Survey

https://www.digitaleducationcouncil.com/resource-library-items/ai-in-higher-education-global-survey-2026 One in 25 teens affected by AI-assisted online abuse, study finds. Read Lee Barrett's opinion: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/lee-barrett-a7624923b_boys-major-victims-of-ai-assisted-online-share-7480417534723244033-OjWU/ AI and employment in Australia - report from Department of Education and Workplace Relations

https://www.dewr.gov.au/download/17666/ai-and-employment-australia/43205/ai-and-employment-australia/pdf

Links - Research