Lane 1: Supervised assessment
Generative AI can support student learning, but in some assessments you must be sure that students can reason, communicate and perform tasks independently of AI. This page explains when AI should be excluded from assessment and where you can get support. A balanced assessment strategy usually combines several formats to assess different learning outcomes, while supporting accessibility and fairness.
Independent mastery of key learning outcomes
Supervised assessment (Lane 1) applies when students must demonstrate knowledge, reasoning or skills without relying on AI. The focus is not on “AI-proofing” tasks, but on verifying independent mastery of key learning outcomes. Students may use AI during preparation (if your course allows this), but the assessment itself must let you confirm that the performance reflects their own understanding and skills. These questions help you determine whether supervised assessment is necessary.
When should AI be excluded from assessment?
Start with the learning outcomes of your course. Lane 1 is particularly appropriate when you assess:
- language proficiency
- conceptual understanding and disciplinary knowledge
- disciplinary reasoning and argumentation
- methodological decision-making
- analytical or evaluative thinking
- professional or practical skills.
Key principle: the lecturer can directly observe or verify the student’s reasoning, knowledge, or performance—through supervision, oral interaction, real-time performance, or other forms of verification.
Are you in the right lane?
Ask yourself
- Would AI use make it unclear whether the learning outcome has been mastered?
- Could AI generate a passable version of the task?
- Remember to test your assumption by actually asking AI to generate a response based on your assessment description, grading rubric and other relevant materials. Also, don’t settle for the first response, but keep prompting AI further to mimic how students would approach using AI more closely.
- Does the assignment mainly assess the final product rather than the learning process?
- Does the learning objective require independent reasoning or procedural skill?
If the answer to one or more of these questions is yes, the assessment likely belongs in Lane 1. You can also use the GenAI and Assessment Checklist to analyse the assessment structure of your course.
Advice or support, get in touch!
Via TLC Contact you can contact your faculty’s assessment specialists. You can discuss potential changes to your assessment with them. You can also seek advice from the assessment specialists at TLC Central (tlc@uva.nl).
Inform your programme director when making significant changes so that potential risks and adjustments can be considered at programme level.