Examined (How Tests Shape What We Learn and Who We Are)

Examinations influence not only what we know but who we become as individuals and societies. Yet examination technologies are often fundamentally misaligned with learning, instead prioritizing measurement and quality control – outcomes that artificial intelligence tools are poised to powerfully reinforce.

Brian Hodges and Sarah Whyte delve deeply into examination practices and systems, showing that they underpin economic, political, and cultural agendas; drive social engineering; maintain privilege; and control access to opportunity. With a focus on medical education, the authors critically examine how different types of testing can either foster or hinder meaningful learning. High-stakes, memory-driven exams promote cramming and forgetting and are easily passed by large language models, fuelling long-standing questions about their relevance and validity. Integrating personal experience with insights from education, sociology, history, psychology, and neuroscience to richly inform current debates, Examined argues that the rise of artificial intelligence brings an opportunity to reexamine which tests to retain, discard, or create. Hodges and Whyte highlight the need for transparency and careful deliberation, proposing ways to mitigate examinations’ harmful effects and enhance their ability to cultivate agency, understanding, and community.

Emerging technologies will make learning and meaningful assessment at once more important and more vulnerable. Accessible and practical, Examined invites readers to reassess a powerful social technology at a crucial moment for the future of education.