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AI vs Human Exam Assessment and Development (AHEAD Trial)

NCT07481162 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 258

Last updated 2026-03-18

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) vs Human Exam Assessment and Development (AHEAD) Trial is a participant-blinded randomized controlled trial conducted among first-year medical students at the University of British Columbia. The study evaluates whether multiple-choice examination questions generated using large language models (LLMs) perform comparably to traditionally human-written questions in medical education.

Participants were randomized to complete one of two versions of a formative mock final examination consisting of 112 case-based single-best-answer multiple-choice questions (MCQs) aligned with the same course learning objectives. One exam version contained AI-generated questions produced using a structured LLM workflow with independent AI verification, while the other contained questions authored by senior medical students using conventional methods.

The study evaluates exam feasibility, psychometric reliability, validity, student acceptability, and educational impact. Outcomes include exam performance, item discrimination indices, distractor efficiency, student perceptions of exam quality and difficulty, and changes in perceived preparedness for the upcoming summative examination.

Conditions

  • Medical Education Assessment

Interventions

OTHER

AI-generated MCQ examination

A formative mock examination composed of 112 case-based multiple-choice questions generated using large language models aligned with course learning objectives.

OTHER

Human-generated MCQ examination

A formative mock examination composed of 112 case-based multiple-choice questions written by senior medical students using conventional item-writing methods aligned with the same course learning objectives.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of British Columbia

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Anita Palepu, MD, MPH, FRCPC · University of British Columbia

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
SINGLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2024-12-08
Primary Completion
2024-12-09
Completion
2024-12-09

Countries

  • Canada

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07481162 on ClinicalTrials.gov