We can’t keep guessing whether AI helps students learn

On September 2, as students returned to class, New York City implemented a one-year pause on generative AI use for nearly 600,000 students across pre-K, elementary, and middle school. Los Angeles soon followed, blocking it for every student on a district-issued device. Together, the country’s two largest school systems came to the same conclusion: Better to wait a year than to keep putting untested tools in front of kids. Neither district is calling the decision permanent. Both are responding to parents who worry that untested AI tools are reaching students before anyone knows whether they improve learning. New York City Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels said it best: “We’re standing firmly in our belief that innovation does not mean more technology, and over the next year, we will lead with evidence to make sure technology serves learning—not the other way around.” That leaves an obvious question: Where will that evidence come from? ADOPTION IS OUTPACING EVIDENCE Teachers, school leaders, parents, and students are making consequential decisions about AI without reliable information about what works, for whom, and under what conditions. Sixty percent of teachers use AI for work, ye…

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