JCQ's AI Use in Assessments (Revision 2, April 2025) — The UK Exam Boards' Joint Rulebook for AI Misuse in Coursework

The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), the body representing the main UK awarding organisations, publishes 'AI Use in Assessments: Your role in protecting the integrity of qualifications'. Revision 2 took effect on 30 April 2025 and is aimed at teachers, assessors and exam centres, who are expected to build their AI and malpractice policies around it.
The update followed a survey of centres. It adds real-life candidate malpractice examples involving AI that was not referenced appropriately (Appendix A), information on authenticating private candidate work, a new section on 'AI use and marking' covering both student AI use and assessors' own use of AI tools (Appendix B), and an extended list of AI tools and AI-detection tools. It is paired with a student information sheet, a teacher information sheet and a presentation for senior leaders.
Evidence is descriptive rather than outcome-based. Ofqual's Delivery Report 2025 identifies inappropriate AI use in non-examined assessment as a risk, mainly in subjects with coursework, and records 42 malpractice allegations received for GCSE, AS and A level in summer 2025 (51 in 2024), but publishes no separate count of AI misuse: confirmed cases are reported under plagiarism offences. Awarding organisations use detection software and moderation, and share confirmed sanctions across boards for a consistent sector-wide approach.
Cautions: no published data show whether the guidance reduces AI misuse, and detection tools are an acknowledged weak point. The practice is transferable as a template for a sector-wide, regulator-backed assessment-integrity rulebook, but its effect is not yet evaluated.

Read the full analysis: https://www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/malpractice/artificial-intelligence/