Education at a Crossroads: Report Declares “Time’s Up” for Traditional Exams

• 70% of teachers say AI is key to students’ future careers
• Traditional GCSE and A-Levels could face radical overhaul as research reveals demand for new assessment methods
• Nearly two-thirds of parents back a major overhaul of GCSEs and A-Levels
• FindTutors proposes five innovative alternatives for assessment in the AI era

FindTutors, the UK-based private tuition platform owned by GoStudent, is urging education leaders to rethink the nation’s exam system after new research found it increasingly out of step with today’s AI-influenced world.

As the summer term concludes for pupils across the UK, fresh findings highlight growing dissatisfaction with the current model of exams. According to the Future of Education Report 2025 from GoStudent, 62% of parents believe more modern forms of assessment are urgently needed, citing the rapid rise of AI as a key factor. Already, 16% of students admit to using AI for essay writing, with 21% saying it has helped them pass exams.

Concerns are also growing around what current qualifications truly measure. A majority of parents (59%) feel exam grades no longer give a clear picture of a child’s capabilities, while 58% argue children are spending too much time on rote learning instead of building the critical thinking needed for the careers of tomorrow.

The study suggests the established systems — GCSEs and A-Levels in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and National Qualifications in Scotland — could be due for radical change. With 84% of UK teachers favouring simulation-based assessments, the traditional exam hall could soon give way to interactive, real-world scenarios that test practical knowledge and application.

The research also indicates that portfolio-based evaluations may provide a more accurate reflection of a student’s skills and long-term development. Rather than facing high-pressure, end-of-year exams, students could compile a body of work over time – a shift that mirrors findings from the National Bureau of Economic Research, which show rising demand for soft skills in the workplace. Supporting this, 64% of parents believe AI makes soft skills more important – traits that current exams rarely measure.

Albert Clemente, CEO at FindTutors, outlines five alternative assessment methods that educational institutions should consider implementing to better measure student talent in today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape:

1. Simulation-based assessment (74% teacher support): Students demonstrate knowledge by making decisions in real-world scenarios, an approach already widely used in healthcare education.
2. Portfolio assessment (69% teacher support): Students build up a digital collection of work over time, allowing for a comprehensive view of progress rather than measuring performance on a single day.
3. Peer and self-assessment (67% teacher support): Students evaluate their own work and that of classmates, developing critical thinking skills and deeper understanding of assessment criteria.
4. Learning analytics (66% teacher support): ‘Big data’ assesses all student work across digital platforms, providing insights into learning patterns and progress that traditional exams cannot capture.
5. AI-based adaptive testing (63% teacher support): Personalised assessment adjusts to individual abilities, providing more accurate measurement of capabilities by tailoring difficulty levels to each student.

“Traditional essays and exams have been the cornerstone of education for more than a century, but our research clearly shows that both teachers and parents recognise the need for change. In particular, with 35% of teachers stating students cheat by using AI and 26% believing technology has made traditional assessments redundant, we need to rethink how we evaluate learning,” Clemente said.

With nearly half (41%) of teachers stating exams rely too heavily on memorising facts and 34% believing they create undue stress, the call for new assessment methods comes at a crucial time for UK education. 

The research also found that 71% of teachers believe access to AI should be supervised rather than banned, highlighting the need to adapt assessment methods to the digital reality students now inhabit.