There is no talk yet of switching to AI checking the homework of Russian schoolchildren

There is no talk yet of switching to checking Russian schoolchildren’s homework with artificial intelligence (AI), Kommersant was assured yesterday by the Ministry of Digital Development. This is how the department responded to the lively discussion on this topic that began in Russian society. Earlier, the Russian government approved a new strategic direction in the field of digital transformation of education until 2030, which talks about the possible introduction of automated homework testing using AI. Deputy Head of the Ministry of Digital Development Oleg Kachanov said last week that the possibility of checking school assignments automatically is being discussed at “strategic sessions”. The Ministry of Education has not yet commented on this topic.

The Russian government has approved a new strategic direction in the field of digital transformation of education, designed to achieve “a high degree of “digital maturity” in the education sector.” The document published at the end of October on the portal of educational standards of higher education, in particular, speaks of the need to provide all participants in the educational process with equal access to verified digital educational content by 2030, to provide the possibility of automated selection and admission to general education organizations, as well as to attract “experts”. artificial intelligence systems for automating homework checking and planning educational programs.”

We note that the first to speak on the topic of automating homework checking was Oleg Kachanov, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation, at the All-Russian Informatization Forum PROF-IT in Novosibirsk last Friday. The official said that the department is developing long-term indicators of regional information systems in the field of general education (one of the already operating systems is the Moscow Electronic School). “For example, one of the key points that constantly flashes at our strategic sessions is the ability to check homework automatically,” said Mr. Kachanov, quoted by RIA Novosti. “This indicator is the most understandable and simple, which relieves teachers, but for some reason it is not given priority anywhere. Automatic checking of homework, we expect, should be included in the requirements (of information systems in the field of general education.— “Kommersant”). This is what should be provided in the standard solution and in those solutions that the regions develop independently.”

The idea of ​​involving AI in such a sensitive task has caused a lively discussion in Russian society. Thus, the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Education, Yana Lantratova, as reported by TASS, has already appealed to the Minister of Education Sergei Kravtsov with a request to abandon the innovation and asked to state the official position of the department on this issue.

“Homework is not only a check of numbers and letters, it is also the teacher’s comments that express the teacher’s attitude and individual approach to each child,” Olga Kazakova, head of the relevant Duma committee, explained to Kommersant yesterday. “An individual approach cannot be replaced by a machine.” Mrs. Kazakova expects “concrete proposals” on how to free up the time that the teacher spends on “mechanical” checking of work in favor of live communication with students; when they appear, the deputies will begin to consider, based on the opinions of all participants in the educational process.

“The final decision on the use of artificial intelligence in the field of education will be made only together with experts, teachers and parents,” the Ministry of Digital Development assured Kommersant. However, the department did not provide details of the process and timing of the introduction of new technologies to the publication’s request. “We are now thinking about what promising indicators could be included in the requirements for regional systems in the future,” the press service of the Ministry of Digital Development cautiously noted. “For example, this could be the share of automatically checked homework. But even in this case, artificial intelligence should only help the teacher by providing preliminary results for him to make a final decision. There is no talk of switching to fully automatic verification.” They only added that “The Ministry of Digital Development, together with the Ministry of Education, will raise the bar of requirements for regional information systems in the field of general education in order to set a new level of quality of digital services in education in the horizon 2025–2030.”

Kommersant sent a request to the Ministry of Education, but has not yet received a response.

A member of the council of the Teacher trade union, Vsevolod Lukhovitsky, in a conversation with Kommersant, expressed confidence that the initiative will never “work” in the Russian education system, because the purpose of homework is not primarily related to the assessment of knowledge, but to the need to understand what causes misunderstanding among schoolchildren. “Homework is part of the joint work of both student and teacher. You can offer it (an automatic system for checking homework.— “Kommersant”) teachers, you can get a government order for its development and implementation and spend a lot of money. But this proposal has nothing to do with the real problems of the school,” he said.

“We can’t cope without artificial intelligence and special programs,” insists Irina Abankina, professor at the Institute for Educational Development at the Higher School of Economics. “With its help, we can achieve individualization of both the path to achieving educational results and an increase in the space of choice. That is, it will be possible to individualize the educational program of each student, and not just specialized groups.”

Emilia Gabdullina