Research Library
The Evidence on AI in K‑12
Evidence Base & Landscape
Featured Review · Stanford SCALE
The Evidence Base on AI in K‑12: A 2026 Review
Screened 800+ papers on AI in K‑12 to find out what’s actually been proven.
Key Findings
- Only 20 of 800+ papers met the bar for strong causal evidence
- The clearest available answer to whether AI tools actually work
Think Tank Report · CRPE
Getting Beyond the Lightbulb Stage
A CRPE brief on why AI hasn’t transformed schools yet.
Key Findings
- Based on 50+ interviews with funders, developers, and district leaders
- Market, vision, and infrastructure gaps are all still unresolved
Think Tank Report · Bellwether
Productive Struggle
Bellwether’s framework for when AI helps learning versus when it’s a shortcut.
Key Findings
- Looks at memory, attention, motivation, and self-regulation
- Ease isn’t automatically good — sometimes it hides a cost
National Survey · RAND
Using Artificial Intelligence Tools in K‑12 Classrooms
RAND’s first national look at how AI was actually used in classrooms.
Key Findings
- 18% of teachers used AI for teaching as of fall 2023
- Warns AI adoption could deepen inequality without intervention
Meta‑Analysis · Johns Hopkins CRRE
A Quantitative Synthesis of Outcomes of Ed Tech in K‑12 Math
A meta-analysis of ed-tech’s real effect on math learning.
Key Findings
- 74 studies, 56,886 students: small but real positive effect
- Smaller effect size for students from low-income backgrounds
Qualitative Study · Friday Institute
Educators’ Perspectives on Generative AI in K‑12
NC State’s Friday Institute on how educators are actually experiencing AI.
Key Findings
- Compares educator experience against 12 states’ official guidance
- Flags equity, workload, and privacy as top concerns
Mixed Methods · Research in Learning Tech.
Perceptions and Preparedness of K‑12 Educators
What’s standing in the way of educators feeling ready for AI.
Key Findings
- Links AI familiarity directly to perceived readiness
- Insufficient PD is the most-cited barrier
Tutoring & Personalized Learning
RCT · Stanford
Access Is Not Enough
Two RCTs on whether students actually use AI tutors when given the chance.
Key Findings
- Nearly half of students never logged into the AI tutor at all
- Pairing it with a human tutor helped, but not enough to move reading scores
Field Experiment · PNAS
Generative AI Without Guardrails Can Harm Learning
A high school field experiment on AI tutoring with and without guardrails.
Key Findings
- AI tutoring boosted practice scores, then hurt exam scores once removed
- Withholding direct answers erased the harm entirely
Systematic Review · npj Science of Learning
AI‑Driven Intelligent Tutoring Systems in K‑12
A Nature-family review focused specifically on K‑12 tutoring systems.
Key Findings
- Covers intelligent tutoring systems built for K‑12 classrooms
- Maps out where the evidence is strong versus still thin
Meta‑Analysis · Computers & Education
Does ChatGPT Enhance Student Learning?
A meta-analysis of experimental studies, not just surveys.
Key Findings
- Positive effects found on performance and higher-order thinking
- Synthesizes results across many independent experiments
RCT · Computers & Education
Effects of LLM Use & Note-Taking on Reading Comprehension
A randomized experiment inside real secondary-school classrooms.
Key Findings
- Tests how note-taking habits interact with LLM use
- Conducted in actual classrooms, not a lab
Field Study · Preprint
Learning to Prompt
An adaptive tutoring system tested with real high schoolers.
Key Findings
- Tested with 359 real students across 656 conversations
- Adaptive prompting outperformed static tutoring scripts
Bias Study · Stanford
Marked Pedagogies
Tested 4 major LLMs on real 8th-grade essays for bias.
Key Findings
- Feedback shifted based on a student’s race, gender, and learning needs
- Shows “personalized” AI feedback isn’t neutral
Framework · Preprint
Building AI Companions That Prioritise Learning Over Performance
A design case, not an outcomes study, for slower AI tutors.
Key Findings
- Argues AI tutors should resist giving the fastest answer
- Prioritizes durable learning over the feeling of instant progress
Assessment, Integrity & Critical Thinking
Framing Piece · Assessment & Eval. in HE
The Wicked Problem of AI and Assessment
Argues AI exposed a problem that already existed in assessment.
Key Findings
- Traditional assessment was never a clean measure of understanding
- A foundational, widely-cited framing piece
Framing Piece · Assessment & Eval. in HE
Black Box Assessment
Makes the case for assessing visible, documented thinking.
Key Findings
- Pushes back on trying to “catch” AI use after the fact
- Proposes assessing process, not just final products
Foundational · Preprint, 2023
Chatting and Cheating
One of the earliest, most-cited looks at ChatGPT-era integrity.
Key Findings
- 244+ citations since its 2023 preprint release
- A foundational reference point for the whole field
Landmark Study · Patterns
GPT Detectors Are Biased Against Non-Native English Writers
A landmark, widely-cited bias finding in AI detection tools.
Key Findings
- Non-native English writers flagged far more often as “AI-written”
- Raises real fairness concerns for detection-based policies
Empirical Test · Intl J. Educational Integrity
Testing of Detection Tools for AI-Generated Text
A head-to-head test of popular AI-detection tools.
Key Findings
- Tested multiple detection tools side by side
- Found them unreliable across the board
Systematic Review · Soc. Sci. & Humanities Open
Reassessing Academic Integrity in the Age of AI
A 2025 systematic review of where the integrity debate stands now.
Key Findings
- Synthesizes findings across dozens of studies
- Maps how the conversation has shifted since 2023
Framework · Educational Researcher
The AI3 Model
A cross-national framework for assessment innovation.
Key Findings
- Spans K‑12 and higher education contexts
- Published in AERA’s flagship journal
Synthesis · Preprint
The Effortless Trap
Argues placement, not permission, determines AI’s effect on learning.
Key Findings
- An unguarded AI helper left students ~17% worse on an unaided exam
- A well-engineered tutor roughly doubled learning instead
Survey Study (Contested) · Societies
AI Tools in Society
Links frequent AI use to lower critical thinking scores.
Key Findings
- A widely-debated survey of 666 participants
- Read alongside its published correction
Agentic AI, Literacy & Policy
Foundational · Computers & Ed: AI
Conceptualizing AI Literacy
The foundational framework most later AI-literacy work builds on.
Key Findings
- Defines AI literacy as technical knowledge plus critical evaluation
- Cited across most later AI-literacy frameworks
Framework · Preprint
Addressing the Reality Gap
Three tensions schools face in adopting more autonomous AI.
Key Findings
- Names feasibility, adaptation speed, and mission alignment
- A preprint chapter for Springer’s forthcoming AI-in-education handbook
Industry Data · OpenAI
The Shift to Agentic AI: Evidence from Codex
OpenAI’s own usage data on agentic AI adoption.
Key Findings
- Agentic AI usage grew more than 5x in six months
- Adoption is spreading well beyond software developers
Perspective · Frontiers in Education
The Cognitive Mirror
A conceptual framework, not a data study, on AI and metacognition.
Key Findings
- AI’s value may be reflecting a learner’s thinking back to them
- Proposes building self-regulation, not just giving answers
No papers match that search — try a different term or clear the filter.