Denmark Imposes AI Cheating Measures for Secondary Schools, Including Oral Defences and Screen Monitoring

Danish Education Minister Magnus Heunicke announced immediate measures on Thursday to tackle rising AI-assisted cheating in upper secondary schools. All written tests completed at home will require oral defences, including the SSO exam taken annually by about 9,000 upper secondary students. Schools must use screen monitoring tools during written exams and firewall filtering during teaching hours and exams. Upper secondary schools are also encouraged to have students complete assignments at school under controlled conditions.

This is a national set of immediate measures by a European country responding to exam integrity after AI entered classrooms, directly affecting how upper secondary students are examined, use devices at school and complete assignments. For teachers and schools, oral defences and screen monitoring mean more assessment and classroom management work; for AI education product providers, firewall filtering and controlled in-school assignments narrow the space for homework-oriented tools. The measures have only been announced by the minister, with implementation details, monitoring tool choices and outcome data not yet published, so the actual scope remains to be seen. Upper secondary students in Denmark will generally face oral defences for written tests completed at home, affecting about 9,000 SSO exam takers and changing exam formats and preparation. Schools must deploy screen monitoring and firewall filtering during exams and teaching hours, adding invigilation and process assessment work for teachers and potentially more controlled in-school assignments.