Assessment Validity under Pressure: Islamic Education Students’ Experiences of Course Assessment in the Generative AI Era

Muhammad Jamaluddin

doi:10.53515/alqodiri.v24i3.347

Authors

Muhammad Jamaluddin Universitas Islam Negeri Madura Indonesia Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53515/alqodiri.v24i3.347

Keywords:

Assessment Validity; Generative Artificial Intelligence; Islamic Religious Education; Pesantren; Student Perceptions.

Abstract

Background of study: Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has unsettled the evidential basis of university assessment, yet Indonesian research has mostly measured students’ AI use or attitudes rather than whether course assessment still means what it claims.

Aims and scope of paper: This study examines how Islamic Religious Education (PAI) students experience and judge course assessment in the generative AI era.

Methods: Using a qualitative descriptive design, it draws on written interview responses, open-ended questionnaire explanations, and profile data from eight third-semester PAI students at Universitas Islam Negeri Madura, all of whom are pesantren alumni. Data were analysed through a hybrid, reflexive thematic analysis interpreted through validity theory.

Result: Five themes were developed. Students used AI as a release valve under workload, mainly to find ideas and understand material. Most regarded grades as only partly reflecting their ability, and most judged assessment as not entirely fair, citing both the invisibility of AI authorship and inconsistent grading among lecturers. Honesty was framed as individual and AI as morally neutral; pesantren formation appeared to regulate device access more than judgement about AI use. Disclosure to lecturers was uneven, and no student reported using AI to write answers. Students favoured assessment that makes understanding visible, especially oral and in-class formats, and unanimously preferred restricting AI.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that in PAI, validity is pressured less by students’ religious commitments than by assessment designs that leave understanding unseen. Adding oral or in-class components may protect validity better than rules that rely on disclosure.

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