Failing grades soar with AI usage, dwindling math skills in Berkeley CS classes

UC Berkeley computer science classes experienced dramatically higher failing rates in spring 2026, with 35.3% of CS 10 students and 10.6% of CS 61A students receiving F's—far exceeding the department's 7% guideline. Instructors attribute the surge to increased academic dishonesty involving AI tools like ChatGPT, students' inadequate mathematical preparation, and course understaffing. Teaching professor Dan Garcia reported nearly 30 students caught cheating on take-home exams and emphasized that reliance on large language models leaves students unprepared for in-person assessments.