California Middle Schools Test AI Grading Tools and Student Pushback
Gregory Dharman's eighth grade math students submit their exit tickets to an AI program called Snorkl instead of handing them to their teacher. The software grades quizzes, exams and homework, then offers instant feedback. If students don't reach an acceptable score, they retake the quiz.
This setup at South Lake Middle School in Irvine reflects a broader trend: middle schools across California are becoming the testing ground for AI in classrooms. A RAND survey found that 41% of middle schoolers in the U.S. use AI for schoolwork.
Educators say elementary students are too young for AI interaction, while high school students should already know how to use it. Middle school sits in the middle.
How Teachers Are Implementing AI
Dharman has received AI training from the Irvine Unified School District for three years. Last year, he mentored other teachers, leading quarterly sessions where dozens crowded into a classroom to test different tools and learn how to set up assignments.
The training included instruction on using AI detectors like Turnitin and Scribbr to catch cheating. Teachers learned to position AI as a learning aid, not a shortcut.
"How can I maximize this thing and use it to my advantage?" Dharman said about teaching students to approach AI.
About once a month, Dharman's class trades pencils for Chromebooks. Students type questions into Snorkl and receive step-by-step explanations. One student typed: "Hey, you're my tutor. Help me solve this equation." A detailed breakdown appeared seconds later.
Dharman bases Snorkl's grading criteria on content he uploads, though he adjusts parameters to match his preferences. He uses the tool because it pushes students to explain their thinking and provides personalized feedback.
But the system isn't flawless. Once, Snorkl deducted points because a student rewrote an explanation in different words-though the answer was correct. Dharman caught the error when reviewing exit tickets himself and fixed it.
Student Reactions Vary Sharply
At Marina Middle School in San Francisco, reactions to AI are mixed and sometimes contradictory.
Matthew Helmenstine, an eighth grade social studies and journalism teacher with 25 years of experience, doesn't introduce AI until the end of the school year. Marina's school-provided Chromebooks block AI access, though students often use their phones for digital work.
In February, Helmenstine showed his class a history video about the Mexican-American War-then revealed it was AI-generated. "They lost their minds immediately," he said. "They're like 'That's AI, that's baloney! That's garbage!'"
Two weeks later, the school held a Chinese New Year assembly featuring an AI-animated video of students riding horseback. Same students, different reaction: they loved it.
Helmenstine noticed they respond differently to AI-generated images versus AI language models like ChatGPT. When he mentions ChatGPT in class, students treat the topic as taboo. He attributes the conflicting responses to unfamiliarity with the technology.
Helmenstine hasn't received AI training from San Francisco Unified, but that may change. Marina's principal recently announced AI is coming, and teachers must decide how to use it in their classrooms.
"To a lot of us that have been doing this for a while, it's kind of scary because we don't know if it's going to get away from us," Helmenstine said. He worries students might lose the ability to express themselves if they rely on AI to write essays or poems.
Catching AI-Generated Work
Xilong "Benson" Li, also at Marina, teaches seventh and eighth grade social studies. He's noticed a sharp increase in students submitting AI-generated assignments as their own.
"It is so different from their previous writings, or from their parents' writings," Li said. "It is just so far above, or so nonhuman, that it's easy for me to figure out."
Marina has no official AI policy, so Li enforces his own rules. He gives students a zero if he catches them submitting AI-generated work verbatim. For incomplete assignments, he awards 15%.
Li occasionally demonstrates AI's capabilities to show its potential. One afternoon, a student asked why the chicken crossed the road. Li opened ChatGPT and had it write an essay on the topic. His students were fascinated by the speed.
"AI is a helpful tool for students," Li said. "But it's too much of a crutch if they just use it verbatim word-for-word, or copy it and pass it off as their own."
Districts Take Systematic Approaches
While individual teachers set their own guidelines, some districts are developing coordinated strategies. KIPP Public Schools Northern California uses micro-pilots to test AI tools before wider adoption.
Jennie Dougherty, director of strategic initiatives at KIPP, monitors how new tools affect select teacher and student groups. The pilot process asks critical questions: Are students more confused? Is the teacher spending more time managing technology than teaching? Are struggling students falling further behind?
"If the answer to any of those was yes, we stop," Dougherty said.
When KIPP introduced Coursemojo, a writing feedback tool, the results surprised her. The software was designed to give immediate feedback. Instead, after the first test, a student said, "I'm gonna crash out!"
Dougherty later realized the problem: students received multiple rounds of feedback at once. It felt like bombardment. "Humans process feedback at the speed of emotion," she said. The rapid-fire corrections made students question their abilities.
A teacher observing the students noticed they struggled with the pace of feedback. To improve the experience, the teacher reminded students that feedback signals learning, not failure.
Dougherty emphasized that middle schoolers are still developing their academic identities. Districts need to prepare teachers for how students will react to AI before introducing it.
"Our goal is not to introduce AI early," Dougherty said. "Our goal is to introduce agency early. Because a measure of our success is not whether students can use AI. It is whether they emerge from our schools knowing who they are, and trusting themselves to navigate whatever comes next."
For educators looking to implement AI responsibly, resources like an AI for Education guide and an AI Learning Path for Teachers offer structured frameworks for classroom integration.
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