“We Both Knew What They Did”: Students Deny Using AI, Teacher Finds A Clever Way To Expose Them

Cheating among students isn’t exactly breaking news. In fact, surveys reveal that anywhere from 75% to 98% of college students admit to cheating in high school. Now, with AI tools at their disposal, it’s even easier to get away with—raising concerns among educators.

One English teacher, however, decided they weren’t going to be outsmarted. They came up with a clever plan to catch students using AI to complete their assignments and shared the details on Reddit.

Read all about it below!

As ChatGPT nears its two-year anniversary, it’s clear that many people, including students, have come to rely on it as a daily tool. And while some use it to support their learning, others, naturally, use it to cheat—something that has left teachers, like the one in this Reddit story, frustrated.

A study from the Center for Democracy and Technology confirms that most teachers feel generative AI has made them more doubtful about whether students’ work is truly their own. However, Stanford education scholars Victor Lee and Denise Pope have found that, while cheating levels have been high for a long time, they haven’t actually increased with ChatGPT.

“We know from our research that when students do cheat, it’s typically for reasons that have very little to do with their access to technology,” explained Pope, a senior lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Education (GSE) and co-founder of the school reform nonprofit Challenge Success.

According to Pope, cheating often occurs because students are struggling with the material and don’t have the support they need. “Maybe they have too much homework and not enough time to do it,” she said. “Or maybe assignments feel like pointless busywork. Many students tell us they’re overwhelmed by the pressure to achieve—they know cheating is wrong, but they don’t want to let their family down by bringing home a low grade.”

At the same time, in the anonymous survey conducted by Pope and Lee, students revealed that they believe AI is okay to use if it only supports them with related tasks rather than doing all the work. “Many said they thought it should be acceptable for ‘starter’ purposes, like explaining a new concept or generating ideas for a paper,” shared Lee, associate professor at the GSE. “But the vast majority said that using a chatbot to write an entire paper should never be allowed.

“So this idea that students who’ve never cheated before are going to suddenly run amok and have AI write all of their papers appears unfounded,” he added.

Rather than imposing a strict ban on AI, the researchers encourage creating a learning environment where students feel respected and find value in their classes.

“Strategies to help students feel more engaged and valued are likely to be more effective than taking a hard line on AI, especially since we know AI is here to stay and can actually be a great tool to promote deeper engagement with learning,” said Pope.