AI teaching systems raise new questions for school districts

AI is moving from helping teachers to taking on some of the teaching duties traditionally handled by educators. Newer-generation AI systems can deliver lessons, personalize instruction, answer students' questions and provide feedback directly to students in real time.

In Austin, the private Alpha School -- which expanded from 15 to 50 campuses across the country this year -- uses AI tutors to deliver academic lessons. Students complete their main coursework in about two hours each morning, while adults serve as guides and mentors. New locations include Boston, Chicago, Denver, Atlanta, Nashville and Miami Beach. Tuition at the Austin school is $40,000 a year, and ranges to $65,000 at other standard locations.

The San Francisco Unified School District licensed “Amira,” an AI reading tutor for K-5 students that provides supplemental, one-on-one literacy instruction. The system listens to children read aloud and provides tailored prompts on skills, including phonics, decoding, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.

But as AI takes on more instructional roles in K-8 classrooms, districts need evidence that it actually improves student learning. The shift also highlights a bigger issue for educational technology leaders: How schools should evaluate and oversee AI systems designed to educate and influence children.

AI shifts from teacher support to K-8 instruction

Early AI tools for education largely focused on supporting teachers or providing students with supplemental practice. A newer class of systems is designed to take on more of the instructional work, guiding students through lessons and responding to their individual needs.

Tracy Weeks, senior education policy and strategy director at Instructure, an education technology company, said AI tutors can provide students with help anytime, rather than only when a human tutor is available.

Districts need evidence before scaling AI teaching systems

AI tutors require more than a classroom rollout

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