The advent of AI in schools presents a new slew of obstacles and questions for educators and administrators: How can investments and policies ensure these benefits reach the students most in need? How will so many districts train up their teachers amid other pressing priorities and increasing financial constraints? How can educators learn quickly about which AI tools and strategies work best?
At CRPE, we are deeply engaged in trying to help answer these questions by understanding and shaping the impact of AI in K–12 education. We are committed to leading the way in this important work, ensuring that AI becomes a tool for enhancing learning and equity, rather than exacerbating existing disparities.
In the two years since ChatGPT’s release, generative AI (genAI) tools have flooded the K-12 education space. Each day, educators and administrators hear new claims about AI’s power to transform learning, while also facing warnings about its dangers.
For decades, students of color and those from low-income communities have faced persistent achievement gaps in our education system. Despite countless reform efforts, these students continue to encounter barriers to accessing high-quality, personalized instruction that builds critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Just two years after ChatGPT’s public introduction, generative AI has rapidly transformed many aspects of society and the workplace. McKinsey’s 2024 State of AI survey of global executives highlights a surge in AI adoption over the past year: 65% of respondents say their organizations regularly use generative AI—nearly double the figure from ten months prior—and 75% predict that it will drive significant or disruptive changes in their industries in the years ahead.
News broke last week on litigation against Hingham Public Schools in Massachusetts, where a high school senior was disciplined and given a failing grade for using AI assistance on a school assignment.
AI has transformed the education landscape, but are teacher preparation programs keeping pace? In CRPE’s latest report, we surveyed leaders from schools of education to understand how their faculty and preservice teachers are engaging with AI, their views on its long-term impact, and how institutions are embedding AI into their curricula.
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Senior Research Analyst, CRPE
Executive Director, Washington State Opportunity Scholarship
Guest Author
Senior Fellow, CRPE
Consulting Project Manager