The State of AI in Education: Dealing with Disruption
"Welcome, how can I help?" If that prompt feels familiar, you already know: AI is in the classroom-invited or not. The 2025-2026 Education Insights report shows 40% of students admit using AI on assignments without permission. AI is changing what it means to teach, learn, and engage. The question is no longer if, but how schools respond.
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AI in Classrooms Right Now
Teachers aren't in the dark. Sixty-five percent say they've caught students using AI without approval. At the same time, only 49% of teachers use AI to complete their own school tasks, and just 53% feel optimistic about its possibilities.
Students see the upside. Among high schoolers who used AI with approval, 70% say it helped them learn and work faster. Yet 70% also believe the skills they're learning will be something AI can do, which can drag down motivation if schools don't adjust what and how they assess.
Engagement Is the Signal
Engaged students learn more, but AI complicates how we read engagement. If we only see polished outputs, we miss the thinking. Final answers don't prove deep learning. Process does.
Risks You Must Manage
- Using AI in unapproved ways
- Convenient plagiarism and ghostwriting
- Overreliance that weakens critical thinking
- Shortcuts that undermine authentic learning
Opportunities You Can Build On
- Personalized learning pathways
- Scaffolding when students need it most
- Faster drafting, research, and feedback cycles
- New forms of creativity and inquiry
Assessment: Make Thinking Visible
Shift from grading outputs to verifying process. Require prompt logs, drafts, citations of AI use, and reflections on choices. Use quick oral checks and in-class performance tasks. Make it harder to outsource thinking, and easier to show it.
Six Strategies to Put in Place Now
- Establish clear policies and shared language for AI use: Define what's allowed, what's not, and how to disclose AI assistance. Be specific by assignment type.
- Focus on process and thinking during assessment, not just output: Collect artifacts of thinking-notes, drafts, prompt history, and rationale.
- Teach AI literacy explicitly: Cover prompt writing, bias, verification, and when not to use AI. Treat AI as a tool that requires judgment.
- Design assignments AI can't easily solve: Anchor tasks in local data, personal experience, live discussions, labs, performances, or iterative critique.
- Use AI to support differentiation and feedback: Generate leveled exemplars, question sets, and rubric-aligned feedback to meet students where they are.
- Continuously evaluate and adapt practices: Review outcomes, update policies, and share wins across teams each term.
Policy and Support
Schools don't have to solve this alone. Norton has joined the Digital Citizenship Initiative to support safe student engagement with AI, and similar partners can help build responsible-use frameworks and resources for classrooms.
For broader policy guidance, see UNESCO's guidance on AI in education: UNESCO: AI and Education. For practical upskilling options by role, explore AI courses by job.
From the Classroom
"I always look for ways to engage students in using AI effectively-for example, to generate ideas, organize thoughts, and clarify questions-rather than relying on it to write papers or complete assignments."
-Jessica Erlanger, High School English Teacher, Upland, CA
Act Now
AI is already in your classrooms. The real move is to make it serve learning, not replace it. Lead with clarity, design for thinking, and teach students how to use AI with intention.
Get the full story on current trends, student mindsets, and classroom practices in the Education Insights 2025-2026 report. Download the Report
Quick Next Steps
- Draft a one-page AI use policy and student disclosure template.
- Revise one unit to include process artifacts and an oral check.
- Pilot AI-assisted feedback to speed response times.
- Run a 45-minute AI literacy mini-lesson next week.
- Plan a monthly review to refine practices.
- Optional: Explore latest AI courses for staff development.
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