226 state matura papers annulled after pupils found using artificial intelligence
State Examination Centre annulled 226 tests after spotting identical phrasing; average grade for the June session is 3.66.
Examiners annulled 226 state matura papers after finding that several pupils had apparently used artificial intelligence to produce identical answers, the State Examination Centre said.
Some candidates were caught copying at the exam venue, while others were flagged only after their scripts were reviewed: identical sentences and matching phrasing on the same topic raised suspicion, the centre explained.
"Now here's what we call 'call a friend'. We know that children have two, three phones, they leave one behind. But all that is easily discovered afterwards. That's why I want everyone to know that it can't be used that way. Better for them to write five lines with what they know and think. We want to see the way of thinking. They have phones, whether they used artificial intelligence, whether they found something somewhere. Often the graders see one sentence and a full text comes out and we already have the data," said Daniela Jovchevska Mihajlovska, director of the State Examination Centre.
Exam format and results
This year the national matura ran within a new concept that includes three types of final exams — state, vocational and artistic — so that each pupil is tested on material they actually studied during their four years of secondary education. In the June session the state matura produced an average grade of 3.66, calculated after submitted and reviewed objections to the preliminary results. Last year's average was 3.69.
"I am satisfied with the grade because I think it is approximately realistic. We still have those removed from the matura who cheated, probably as the director says someone still manages, but we are strengthening the process and I think this is not a bad grade at all. Anything above 3.5 is a very good result, truly a solid success for the whole generation given that we cannot expect the entire generation to have excellent success," the minister said.
A total of 14,587 pupils registered to sit exams: 12,184 for the state matura, 2,276 for the vocational matura and 127 for the artistic matura. Some 348 registered candidates did not attend the exams.
Photo: press material from the event
