Application of Artificial Intelligence in Assessment of Academic Achievement of Students of Private Universities in the South East Zone of Nigeria

Assessment is a crucial aspect of educational development. There are growing concerns among the academia that the traditional assessment is not holistic and may not reflect students' academic achievement. Artificial intelligence (AI) which can capture students’ backgrounds and activities is being used in assessing their academic achievement in some universities across the globe. However, there are arguments that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in assessing students’ academic achievement may be novel to lecturers in Nigerian universities. The paper examined the application of AI in the assessment of student’s academic achievement in the private university system in the Southeast Zone of Nigeria. Three research questions guided the study. A mixed methods research design was adopted for the study. The sample constituted 72 lecturers from eight (8) private universities in the southeastern states of Nigeria. Two instruments: Questionnaire on the Application of AI in Assessment (QAAIA) and Smartphone Audio Recorder (SAR) were used for data collection. The QAAIA was validated by experts and a Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient of 0.79 was established. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation while qualitative data were analysed thematically. It was found that the AI facilitates holistic assessment of students’ academic achievement. The result also revealed that the level of awareness of lecturers on the application of AI in assessment is high. However, most lecturers do not apply AI in the assessment of their students. It is recommended among others, that universities in the South East zone of Nigeria should train a critical mass of staff on applications of AI in solving educational assessment issues.