Teaching in the Age of Generative AI: Are We Assessing Learning or Tool Proficiency?

The rapid adoption of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT has intensified debates about assessment validity in higher education. This commentary argues that the central challenge is not students’ use of AI, but the extent to which current assessments measure genuine learning or merely tool proficiency. Drawing on recent scholarship, the article contends that generative AI exposes longstanding weaknesses in knowledge-focused assessment and calls for a shift toward understanding-based, process-oriented evaluation. It further argues that meaningful reform depends not only on redesigning tasks but on strengthening faculty assessment literacy.