Getting Beyond the Lightbulb Stage: Why AI Is Not Yet Transforming Education
New AI tools are entering the ed tech market every day. But how are they actually playing out in schools and classrooms? Drawing on semi-structured interviews with more than 50 stakeholders across ed tech, philanthropy, policy, teaching, and advocacy, this brief identifies the gaps between what AI developers are building and what students, teachers, and […]
The Reckoning: Addressing Oakland’s Literacy Crisis
Oakland Unified School District has spent the past five years trying to address a severe literacy crisis—one where most Black and Latine students were not reading at grade level. In 2020, The Oakland REACH and OUSD families pushed the district to adopt evidence-based reading instruction and commit to improving how literacy is taught across schools. […]
Navigating the Math Wars: A Practical Guide to the Divides and Debates Influencing Math Instruction
Reimagining Learning for the Age of AI: Visions from CRPE’s Think Forward Fellows
Will AI reinforce existing models of schooling, or will it help us build learning environments that center purpose, relationships, and real-world contributions? This is the question that our inaugural cohort of Think Forward AI Fellows explore in this compendium. Conversations about AI often center on details like tools and workflows rather than major concerns like ends […]
States and AI: An Early Look at How Early Adopters Are Approaching AI in Education
As AI use expands in schools, states are beginning to define their role—often without clear federal direction. What actions are they taking, and how are they approaching AI integration in K–12 education? CRPE’s new State AI Early Adopter Database compiles publicly available information on AI-related actions across 20 early adopter states in 2024 and 2025, including guidance, […]
Think Forward: Building a Coherent Approach to AI in Education
In November 2025, the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) convened a diverse group of policymakers, system leaders, educators, researchers, funders, and technology experts for the Think Forward: Learning with AI Forum in New Mexico. At a moment when rapid advances in artificial intelligence are colliding with longstanding inequities and structural challenges in K–12 education, […]
Virtual 1:1 Literacy Tutoring in Oakland Unified School District: Implementation and Effectiveness of a Pilot at Scale
In 2024–25, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) launched a districtwide pilot of virtual, high-dosage, 1:1 literacy tutoring in partnership with three providers: Hoot, Ignite Reading, and OpenLiteracy. This initiative aimed to address early reading gaps, particularly in phonics, for K–2 students who were below grade level. Key Findings High implementation fidelity: Over 80% of tutored […]
Districts and AI: Early Adopters Focus More on Students in 2025-26
Introduction More Early Adopters are piloting systemwide AI strategies Early Adopters focus more on students, mostly with new tools Reimaginers keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with AI Districts must advance more coherent AI strategies for teaching and learning Across the country, the approach schools take towards Generative AI has changed: it’s moved from […]
Outmatched: Special Education Can’t Solve Problems Rooted in the Education Delivery System
In early 2025, the National Center for Education Statistics quietly announced a new record: 7.9 million public school students were identified with a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The new data capped off a decades-long trend towards increasing numbers of children being identified with disabilities and swept up into special education […]
Making Room for What Matters: Innovative School Leaders Want Accountability, but With a Lighter Footprint
Across the country, school leaders are reimagining how students learn—designing models that are more engaging, effective, and connected to the world students are entering. But many say that today’s state accountability systems, while important for transparency and rigor, can make it harder to innovate. This report from the Canopy Project explores what 186 innovative school leaders say […]