Prove It Podcast #2

The Wrong Question?

Why AI is forcing us to rethink assessment

Ask most organisations about assessment right now and they’ll talk about AI. Security, cheating, proctoring, tighter regulations. AI has become the centre of the story, and that’s exactly the problem, because this was never really a story about technology. This session challenges the assumption behind all that effort: that AI is the problem to solve. It isn’t. AI has simply exposed weaknesses that were already there, and the question worth asking is not “how do we stop candidates using AI?” but “what evidence would genuinely convince us that someone is competent?”

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What we cover

Why organisations are nervous

You can tighten security, strengthen proctoring and rewrite your regulations, and still not know whether your assessment measures what you care about. AI didn’t create that problem. It exposed it.

"AI-proof assessment"

Why that phrase puts the technology at the centre of a conversation that should be about evidence, and the question psychometrician Paula Baetu would ask instead.

The operational reality

Rewriting every multiple choice question is the wrong first instinct. What to do when you have tight budgets, spinning plates and a stakeholder demanding change by next month.

Three lenses for better assessment

Evidence-based design, authentic assessment and proof-driven assessment: three simple ways to ask whether an assessment still gives you the evidence you actually need.

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Three questions to pin to your wall
What proof do we actually need, would this happen outside an exam and could we justify this decision if challenged?

Designing for evidence, not just answers 
The full guide to the three lenses, with a definition, key question and practical example for each.

Meet the experts

Robbie Burns
Head of Business Consulting, Cirrus Assessment
Leads Cirrus’s consulting and managed services team, with 25+ years modernising high-stakes assessment — from paper to digital, local to global.
Cristina Gilbert
Cristina Gilbert
Strategic Partnerships, Cirrus Assessment
Cristina leads strategic partnerships at Cirrus Assessment, building the relationships that help assessment evolve.
Paula Baetu
Psychometric Specialist & Business Psychologist, Pawsometrics​
Paula has spent 12 years validating and auditing assessment tools for organisations from global brands to the NHS, making sure the questions people answer actually tell you something true.

More episodes

Coming soon
Episode #3

If your data isn’t changing decisions, what’s the point of collecting it?

Why collecting data is easy and acting on it is hard.
Testing organisations collect enormous amounts of data. But how much of it actually improves assessment quality, candidate experience or decision-making?
Coming soon
Episode #1

What are we really measuring?

Rethinking fairness in assessment design
Are consistency and fairness the same thing? It’s one of the field’s most common assumptions, and this session challenges it head on.

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