Milken Community School is an independent Jewish school in Los Angeles serving approximately 800 students in grades 6–12. In response to rapid technological change, the school has spent the past few years aligning its digital tools to better prepare students for an evolving academic landscape.
As part of that work, Milken uses Exam.net to create secure online assessments that help teachers capture student writing at its earliest and most genuine stage.
As generative AI becomes increasingly present in education, schools face a new challenge: how to embrace technology while preserving genuine student expression. The question is no longer whether students have access to AI, but how schools can ensure that learning remains rooted in students’ own thinking.
Authentic writing matters more than ever. Students need space to develop ideas, strengthen critical thinking, and experience the value of effort and revision. Technology should support and augment that process, not replace it.
For Tara Ann Carter, Director of Educational Technology at Milken, the challenge was not about preventing cheating. It was about protecting the first stage of student thinking: the moment when students begin forming and expressing their own ideas.
Tara Ann Carter
Director of Educational Technology at Milken
In the age of generative AI and easily accessible digital resources, this baseline is essential. Without a secure starting point, teachers may struggle to see what students truly understand, how they think, and how their writing develops over time. Milken wanted a process that encouraged students to begin with their own knowledge, skills, and critical thinking.
Exam.net was first identified by instructional leader Leora Smith and piloted in the English department. Under Leora’s guidance, the pilot expanded into a school-wide standard for online assessments.
The platform is now used across many departments including Jewish Studies and Social Sciences, to address challenges posed by Large Language Models. Teachers use a clear workflow to protect the writing process from the beginning.
Students complete secure, 40-minute “flash drafts” in the highest lockdown mode, allowing teachers to see their raw ability in the moment. These drafts are then exported to Google Docs, where teachers can use version history to follow how the work develops. This documentation helps show that the final product has grown naturally from the original secure draft.
Milken also uses Exam.net for in-class writing assessments, particularly summative essays where protecting the integrity of student work, while reinforcing critical thinking skills, is a priority.
For Milken, the most significant benefit has been the ability to document iteration, which the school considers vital to meaningful assessment. By securing the beginning of a project, teachers can shift the focus away from producing “perfect” writing immediately, toward feedback and iteration.
Exam.net’s security features also create a focused, distraction-free environment. These secure capture points help ensure that the work begins with the student, giving teachers a high-integrity view of each learner’s starting point.
By protecting the beginning of the writing process, Milken gives students a clearer sense of ownership. They can see where they started, how their thinking developed, and how their effort shaped the final result.
Tara Ann Carter
Director of Educational Technology
Schools continue to navigate both a cultural and pedagogical shift driven by the rapid integration of AI technologies, reshaping how students express ideas, engage with learning, and assert their voice within increasingly dynamic and digitally mediated classrooms. Teaching in this context is not only about using new tools, but about helping students think critically, write authentically, and understand the value of their own intellectual effort.
Milken’s approach shows how schools can respond to this shift without losing sight of what matters most: student growth, independent thinking, and genuine voice. Through its use of Exam.net, Milken demonstrates how technology can support learning while keeping students at the center of the process.
Tara Ann Carter, Director of Educational Technology
