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Education Books

Blue Book Sales Surge As Universities Combat AI Cheating (msn.com) 93

Posted by msmash from the analog-strikes-back dept.
Sales of blue book exam booklets have surged dramatically across the nation as professors turn to analog solutions to prevent ChatGPT cheating. The University of California, Berkeley reported an 80% increase in blue book sales over the past two academic years, while Texas A&M saw 30% growth and the University of Florida recorded nearly 50% increases this school year. The surge comes as students who were freshmen when ChatGPT launched in 2022 approach senior year, having had access to AI throughout their college careers.

Blue Book Sales Surge As Universities Combat AI Cheating More | Reply

Blue Book Sales Surge As Universities Combat AI Cheating

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  • If there's an upside to LLMs in school (Score:3)

    by Valgrus Thunderaxe ( 8769977 ) on Wednesday May 28, 2025 @11:39AM (#65410801)
    Is that it will destroy homework. Good riddance.
    • We have solid evidence from years and years of research that homework is not beneficial for education. It's only real use is when you have too many qualified students and not enough places for them and you're unwilling to put the effort into teaching everyone so you need to decide who gets to progress in their academic career and who gets to go work at McDonald's.

      It's a filtering mechanism. Something to decide who's going to be the best corporate drone not who's going to be the most useful person to the

      • Re:Agreed (Score:5, Interesting)

        by cmseagle ( 1195671 ) on Wednesday May 28, 2025 @12:42PM (#65411093)

        We have solid evidence from years and years of research that homework is not beneficial for education. It's only real use is when you have too many qualified students and not enough places for them and you're unwilling to put the effort into teaching everyone so you need to decide who gets to progress in their academic career and who gets to go work at McDonald's.

        I learned college-level math and physics by being explained principles in lecture, and then sent off to apply them to solve problem sets or write proofs on my own time - much, much more time than could realistically be allocated to classroom education. Office hours were available when you needed a steer. I came out of it knowing quite a lot of math and physics, so the blanket claim that homework is "not beneficial" doesn't pass the sniff test.

        It's also worth noting that, while I was in school a long time before ChatGPT, I could still have trivially looked up how to solve the problems on the internet (in undergrad you're almost certainly not working on some novel derivation) and it would have undercut my education in exactly the same way.

        • Homework is fine. Homework that is graded and included in your overall grade is walking dead at this point.

          Homework that allows you to practice and learn the necessary skills --- which will be applied on in classroom graded tests --- is also excellent. Heck allow the TA to grade them to see how you are doing will be a valuable learning experience. Using LLMs to create your "homework" will not help you at all.

          • This is an example of trying to find a solution to the problems with homework, without trying to pretend like homework doesn't have a beneficial effect, or is some kind of illuminati plot to keep poor people down.
            Kudos.
          • Undergrad physics optics course had a take-home open-everything midterm exam. I started working on it, then at the next class meeting, warned fellow students that this was exceptional and could not be deferred until the last minute. It took me 44 hours, and yielded 78 pages including Matlab and other code / computer math results, graphs, and written answers.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by flink ( 18449 )

        How do you master calculus without solving 100s of calculus problems? There isn't enough class time to do that. Class is for new instruction and going over the homework to help students understand concepts they had trouble with. You don't know where your trouble spots are if you don't try to do some work on your own.

        Same for developing written communication skills. You're going to have to write a couple 100 essays in your academic career and get them critiqued to learn how to write and develop the assoc

      • One must practice a skill in order to master it.

        However, grading homework is stupid. One's homework is a terrible measure of how well one has mastered the coursework.

        Young students need to be pushed into doing their homework because they naturally lack self-discipline. So, some kind of incentive and feedback-to-parents mechanism is necessary to make sure this happens. Young-adult students, on the other hand, should have the necessary self-discipline at that point, and should be able to self-motivate to d

        • Grading homework is a chore and a real pain.
          I do it so that we can correct when a student gets a concept wrong. So many times it is simply a matter of flipping an answer. They get numerator and denominator switched. Or add when it should be subtract.
          That's where homework is useful. And it doesn't take hours of work to see this. With sufficiently broad problems to work, you can see the missed concept and fix it.
          If you know the concept my homework takes less than an hour for a 4 credit class.

      • We have solid evidence from years and years of research that homework is not beneficial for education.

        This is a lie. Study after study shows a learning benefit to homework- which is why it still exists.

        It's only real use is when you have too many qualified students and not enough places for them and you're unwilling to put the effort into teaching everyone so you need to decide who gets to progress in their academic career and who gets to go work at McDonald's.

        You're a fucking idiot, comrade.

        • Citation needed in both claims.

          • Citation needed in both claims.

            I am confident that US Academia can provide papers to support both claims, homework good and homework bad. As well as a paper claiming that homework is colonialist and white supremacist.

            • It is not just a study that constitutes a citation for a claim. It requires peer review, replication study, and variance testing. The initial claim may be fine on a single study, but homework effect is something that has definitely been studied by multiple researchers. The academic system of the USA is the most powerful truth deduction engine ever built by humanity. It is foolish to dismiss its findings.

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by drnb ( 2434720 )

                It is not just a study that constitutes a citation for a claim. It requires peer review, replication study, and variance testing.

                That is not an obstacle is US academia, all three of the "perspectives" I referred to can get through that process. Some academic departments are less rigorous than others.

                The academic system of the USA is the most powerful truth deduction engine ever built by humanity. It is foolish to dismiss its findings.

                That's a little appeal to authority fallacy'ish. There should be no reluctance to question any academic product. Some are absolutely politically biased and others outright fraud. The role of an academic authority is not to speak and be believed, it is to explain to the public why their understanding is supported by the best data available

                • Agree that we cannot rest on laurels. Alas, right now we are dismantling instead of reforming for pure political revenge.

                  • Re: (Score:2)

                    by drnb ( 2434720 )

                    Agree that we cannot rest on laurels. Alas, right now we are dismantling instead of reforming for pure political revenge.

                    The dismantling is largely targeting the political. Some STEM is getting hit as collateral damage, but its not the target.

                    • Re: (Score:2)

                      by drnb ( 2434720 )

                      The target is that sweet sweet coal use. Up by 23% in America? yummy [eia.gov]

                      Nope. I read your link and the annual data shows a decline. A false increase appears during the covid recovery, covid had an artificially low year. Otherwise its continual annual decline 2015 to 2024, 1,352,398 to 652,760.

          • I provided exactly the same citations as the parent.
            Your evident standard isn't a particularly good-faith inspiring behavior.

            That being said, a bit of Google will help you find enlightenment here.
            Every study I've ever seen showed the same set of basic shit: Homework makes kids test better.
            It doesn't necessarily increase their grades. There are major equity problems.
            This should all make sense from base principals.
            Human neural networks train their connections via repetition. Repetition in learning make

        • We have solid evidence from years and years of research that homework is not beneficial for education.

          This is a lie. Study after study shows a learning benefit to homework- which is why it still exists.

          For some "academic" endeavors it is critical to listen to the lecture and NOT to investigate further on your own initiative. Just take the lecturer's word, believe, repeat. Otherwise the indoctrination may not work.

          • At some point, someone is going to have to ask the question:
            Do we want kids to graduate high school, or do we want kids with high school educations to graduate high school?

            I understand the problems with the latter from an equity position. I don't think the people who advocate for the former understand its problems, though.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by cowdung ( 702933 )

        That's an interesting statement to say on this website.

        You mean to say that all that time in university during CS classes my time was being wasted by doing all those programming projects, that if instead I had just paid attention to the professor and read the book I would know how to implement a virtual memory system for my own OS, or be able to balance an AVL tree.

        I guess learning by doing is not a thing. Or do you suggest we spend the 10 hours IN class programming ? Or no programming at all?

        Also: all that

    • Re:If there's an upside to LLMs in school (Score:4, Interesting)

      by UnknowingFool ( 672806 ) on Wednesday May 28, 2025 @12:30PM (#65411037)
      From what I remember, the courses when I went to university that had homework were often technical like math, sciences, and engineering. Personally those subjects are somewhat LLM resistant as there is a higher chance of hallucinations. "Calculate the speed of this ball in this scenario. LLM Answer: one BILLION meters per second."

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Sigma 7 ( 266129 )

        They're LLM resistant, but not WolframAlpha resistant.

        Just before LLMs, there was image recognition phone app that would scan a question, and be able to solve it perfectly. It was designed for calculus-level math, which was much less likely to have word problems.

    • If there's an upside to LLMs in school Is that it will destroy homework. Good riddance.

      Uh, no. Homework is typically where you learn and gain proficiency. Especially STEM. Sorry, but learning takes work.

    • Yep - that's been my thought on all of this. They can still assign homework - just don't collect or grade it.

      The student can decide if they do it or not (because it serves no logical sense to use ChatGPT on an assignment that is never graded).

      At given periods throughout the course give no-laptop or phone allowed quizzes and tests. If they can pass the tests and quizzes without chatgpt, then it doesn't matter if they've used it as a study guide or what-not - they still know the material.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by cowdung ( 702933 )

        Sorry but with all the pressures of college, if the homework wasn't graded I'd fold.
        Homework is the only reason I did my Master's degree.. I could have watched a bunch of Youtube videos explaining everything. But I need to chase that grade to get the discipline and persistence to get though a decent homework exercise. Especially with life pressures.
        Too easy to "cheat" by not doing it and then not learning.

        Graded homework provides a structure were people like me can succeed.

  • Why could we not have a setup that drops out connectivity and the students just have to type their essays and print. No internet, just printer connectivity. Should be easy enough to implement with vlans set up properly. I for one know I can type a lot more legibly and faster than I can handwrite. For example, if the class is taking a test from 9 to 10:30. no internet from 9 to 10:30 in that room.
    • A printer?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by sconeu ( 64226 )

      Because the test is online, and therefore you need an internet connection?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by EvilSS ( 557649 )
      Every phone today has a hotspot built in, not to mention some laptops have built in cellular. Also you can't really turn off Wifi to just one room unless it just happens to be a large lecture hall with perfectly placed APs so there is no overlap. Pretty rare I suspect.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by GuB-42 ( 2483988 )

      I for one know I can type a lot more legibly and faster than I can handwrite.

      In education, it is a feature, not a bug. Research tends to consider that handwriting helps with retention *because* it is a slower and more involved process.

      • But in the context of writing in a bluebook we're not talking about the learning process - we're talking about assessment. At the point when you're writing in a bluebook for an exam you're already meant to have retained the material.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Jerrry ( 43027 )

      Because you can run an LLM standalone on a laptop without any connectivity. Sure it won't be as powerful as something like ChatGPT, but it would still allow cheating.

    • Why could we not have a setup that drops out connectivity and the students just have to type their essays and print. No internet, just printer connectivity. Should be easy enough to implement with vlans set up properly. I for one know I can type a lot more legibly and faster than I can handwrite. For example, if the class is taking a test from 9 to 10:30. no internet from 9 to 10:30 in that room.

      To achieve what you are proposing you would probably need an air-gaped Faraday room for test taking. Or, probably far easier just collect all electronics at the door (like some concerts are starting to do).

  • For those who didn't go to school in the USA (Score:5, Informative)

    by nugatory78 ( 971318 ) on Wednesday May 28, 2025 @11:57AM (#65410889)
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
    "A blue book exam is a type of test administered at many post-secondary schools in the United States. Blue book exams typically include one or more essays or short-answer questions."
    • Spent my senior year of high school in lower 6th form in London. You want me to write for two hours in this blue book? You realize I am coming from the US public school system, right? Where are the multiple choice? What about true/false? It was fucking brutal. Luckily they showed me mercy, graded me on the American curve and gave me Cs for trying.
    • So, outside of the US it's...an exam?

      • So, outside of the US it's...an exam?

        An exam with questions that are answered by hand (ie, not by typing on a keyboard) in a paper booklet provided by the school.

        • Yes, an exam (although in other countries you are usually provided with loose-leaf paper instead, with treasury tags to keep it together).

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

          An exam with questions that are answered by hand (ie, not by typing on a keyboard) in a paper booklet provided by the school.

          My university had those during exam season. They would put giant boxes of them in every room. We as students discovered they made *really good* notebooks so would help ourselves to stacks of them. (Like I said, they left boxes of them in every room, so even a packet of 100 booklets wouldn't be missed).

          They were nicer to use than looseleaf as a booklet once you hole punch them is way m

    • I'm from the USA and had never heard of Blue Book apart from the (potentially defunct?) lookup book for determining the value of a used car. We did plenty of paper exams, but the packets were usually print on demand / good ol' laser printed.

    • I earned a college degree in the US and the only "blue book" I've heard of is the used car pricing guide, and I believe also a standard that Philips developed for the compact disc.

  • In certain situations... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by zurkeyon ( 1546501 ) on Wednesday May 28, 2025 @11:58AM (#65410891)
    I'm all for it. Research, language structure, proofing and editing, etc... But for Medical students, and anything associated with medicine and biology, getting caught using AI to cheat should result in expulsion. Otherwise you end up with inept doctors / nurses / dentists / chiropractors / surgeons, that are in the Operating theater looking shit up while you bleed out on a table. Unacceptable in those professions. Your full and total isolation from the internet for the Final, should also be absolute. If you don't know the material, you have no business working on living people. Beyond that, its a tool. Like a calculator. And WILL serve to speed us up in some ways, and dumb us down in others. Unavoidable.

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by rsilvergun ( 571051 )
      Disagree. AI is a tool. If you can pass the test and do the work in class then doesn't matter what tool you used to do it.

      This is about overworked teachers using homework to filter students because they have more qualified applicants than they have seats in the 300 level and above courses.
      • If AI knows the material, but you don't, then why would anyone be insane enough to hand you a scalpel and say "Get to cutting on me" ? Its nuts. In medical, I say you really should personally KNOW the material, and know it well. AI cannot fly the 1500+ hours you need to certify you for a commercial Helicopter pilots license, and shouldn't be able to nullify the 1500+ class hours you'll likely sit to learn how not to kill someone on the operating table. That is why I point out medical specifically. I agree w
      • And how is this different than using your phone as a "tool" and calling someone for the answer?
        • So you want your surgeon to "Phone a friend" while you lay dying on the Operating table? That doesn't seem logical in even a small way.

  • FTA:

    The next part was an in-class essay. The students were given the prompt in advance so they could prepare, but they weren’t allowed to bring their notes, which meant they actually had to think about how they would fill the empty pages. The only way to ace the test was to do the work themselves.

    Followed closely by:

    But even professors who have gone analog to defeat the latest technology are deeply conflicted about it. Many of them believe students should be using AI to get smarter. It would be stupid not to. These tools will be a part of their lives and knowing how to use them effectively will be an important advantage in their future workplaces.

    This strikes me as a realistic compromise offering the best of both worlds. Let students us AI to study, but make them prove that they've actually learned something, by forcing them to write exams using memory and understanding. Sure, they could possibly memorize AI slop and regurgitate it - but even doing that convincingly requires at least a prodigious memory. And even the decision to commit AI slop to memory - followed by having to articulate it on a test paper - will inevitably f

    • ...this seems to be an ongoing discussion from other threads...

      The ancient Greeks had the answer to this 2000 years ago. You attended class in person... I think you are sort of saying that... Many people in academia and on these pages are suggesting that face to face is the only way forward also. The classes were conducted by talking and listening only. (there was a scribe who recorded much of Epictetus's lectures for instance, that is how we have a record of what he said)

      Putting aside that students have no

  • here is a pencil... you know how to use a pencil, right? Now you have to write words... yes, with the pencil.

    • In complete sentences. With correct spelling and punctuation. That should eliminate at least half the class right there!

      • In complete sentences. With correct spelling and punctuation. That should eliminate at least half the class right there!

        And legibly! There goes another set of individuals.

  • Professors use AI all the time in their writing, and many of them are doing it without attribution. Yet we expect our students not to use the same tools?

  • Because certainly it's not going to take forever to print the essays...oh wait....it is.

  • Is that students are paying for them? They were just free at the campus book stores when I was in college.

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