About five years after the COVID-19 pandemic, student test scores still reflect its harmful impact. But artificial intelligence has arrived with the potential to reduce the learning gap and supercharge the future of education. Unfortunately, Texas State Senator Mayes Middleton (R-11) recently introduced legislation to ban AI use in all public and charter classrooms in the Lone Star state. This effort would not only curtail a technology that could help improve student test scores now, but it also threatens to leave kids unprepared for future careers in an increasingly AI-driven world.
Post-COVID students certainly need help. When looking at the national scale, joint research from Harvard and Stanford found that “the average U.S. student remained nearly half a grade level behind pre-pandemic achievement in both math and reading.” Another study looking at global data found that science subjects were also lagging. Meanwhile, the Texas Education Association found more alarming results among Texas school districts with 2021 math scores falling to the lowest levels since 2013.
Similarly, artificial intelligence is already facilitating faster and improved learning. A survey from Intelligent.com found that 90 percent of students preferred ChatGPT over a tutor and 95 percent saw their grades improve when tutoring with ChatGPT. In 5th-grade math courses, a 2020 experiment in Taiwan found that students who used an AI tutor scored a significant 10 points higher and experienced less anxiety than those who stuck to traditional learning methods. Additionally, the study found that low-achieving students, when assisted by AI, became less likely to give up when encountering difficult math problems, helping more complete their assignments.
AI also makes learning English as a Foreign Language easier. A recent experiment from the World Bank found that during a six-week English program, students in Nigeria who worked with an AI tutor, guided by their teachers, gained the “equivalent of nearly two years of typical learning.”
Concerns over AI in education mirror previous arguments against technology that is now a standard occurrence. Critics alleged students would use the pocket calculator to cheat themselves out of a worthwhile education. But research has since found that calculators have helped students learn math faster and have even enabled them to take on more complex problems earlier. Recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics supports this conclusion: course completion rates for classes like Algebra, Precalculus, and Statistics have steadily increased between 1990 and 2019, reaching as high as 92 percent. As calculators suggest, improved computing tools elevate students to higher capacities for learning. Banning their use would be a mistake.
Productivity gains seen around the world offer evidence that AI can help alleviate the pandemic’s education setbacks and even promises to supercharge learning beyond playing catch-up.
More importantly, AI will become increasingly integrated into future learning, careers, and daily life. Early exposure to this technology will help students learn how to use the tech responsibly, preparing them for success in future life pursuits in and outside of the workforce. According to Pew Research, about 40 percent of jobs are exposed to AI, and that percentage is likely to continue to grow as AI develops and improves. And a recent Census Bureau analysis found that small businesses—of only one to four employees—had the second largest share of AI adoption, behind large corporations of over 250 employees. Whether they go on to work for large companies or launch their own small businesses, early experiences with AI will strengthen an important skill students will need for the future of work.
Policymakers focused on preparing students for lifelong success should not casually dismiss AI. It already shows promise as a valuable tool that can help students rapidly achieve better learning outcomes and carry their trajectory to even greater heights. Policymakers should look for opportunities to help teachers integrate AI into the classroom to boost student learning and prepare them for employment in the digital age. Banning AI in classrooms would hurt student achievement now and prepare students for a world that no longer exists.
Nate Karren is a policy analyst with the American Consumer Institute, a nonprofit education and research organization. For more information about the Institute, visit us at www.TheAmericanConsumer.Org or follow us on X @ConsumerPal.