Brown Cheating Scandal: AI Turns 96% Avg Grade Into 40 Perfect Scores

Smart kids at Ivy League schools know how to cheat with AI, and a new scandal at Brown University exposes just how widespread it’s become. Professor Roberto Serrano, still reeling from a campus shooting in December 2025, made his spring 2026 ECON 1170 midterm take-home. Enrollment skyrocketed from the usual 30 students to 86, and the average score hit an eye-popping 96 out of 100—with 40 students acing it perfectly. The problem? Serrano intentionally made the exam harder than usual, and historical averages sat between 65-80%. A Princeton survey backs this up, showing nearly 30% of students admit to AI-assisted cheating. These students don’t need chatbots to pass; they’re competitive, overscheduled, and see AI as a time-saving shortcut in a pressure cooker environment. Serrano won’t stay quiet, spilling the story to major outlets and revealing a system where even the brightest opt for easier paths. Why it matters: This scandal underscores how even top-tier universities are facing a crisis of academic integrity as AI becomes a convenient crutch for ambitious students who prioritize output over learning.