Assessment is how education systems decide what students know, and credentials are how that knowledge turns into a signal that colleges and employers will accept. Both have been digital for some time: state tests went online in the 2010s, the SAT went fully digital in 2024, and computer-adaptive testing is routine. Both are now under pressure from generative AI. If a chatbot can write the essay, pass the take-home exam and produce the portfolio, institutions have to rethink what an assessment proves. This section covers the assessment types and the markets around them, how adaptive testing works, the state-testing and admissions-testing businesses (College Board, ETS, ACT), the proctoring controversies of 2020–22, plagiarism and AI-writing detection, and digital badges and verifiable credentials. It also explains how an experienced operator or investor judges an assessment product.
What the study covers
- 1Overview: one word, several markets
- 2Mechanics
- 3Key numbers
- 4Landmark companies and cases
- 5Pitfalls
- 6How an expert thinks about it
- 7Glossary
Technical exhibits
Worked examples, checklists and case studies included with this study.
AI Detection Base Rate Worked Example
Script-computed example of why a "1% false-positive" AI detector still flags many honest students: base rates, positive predictive value and cumulative risk over a term
Assessment and Integrity Product Checklist
Diligence and product-design checklist for assessment, proctoring, integrity and credentialing products