Digital Technologies and Artificial Intelligence in Education

Source: Bellwether

Date: 5/16/25

Building AI Readiness: Actionable K-12 Insights and Investment Pathways

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) technology is transforming how we live, work, and learn, and the U.S. education sector faces unique challenges in keeping pace (Appendix A). While businesses are using artificial intelligence (AI) to increase efficiencies and scientists are using it to accelerate discovery, the value proposition for K-12 education is more complex. AI could personalize learning, support teachers, and improve student outcomes, but it also brings risks such as data security and privacy, deepening learning gaps, and overreliance on technology. Unlike other sectors, education must weigh not just performance and cost, but also how AI affects human development, trust, and improved outcomes for all students. These considerations are even more urgent given the national data showing declines in reading and math1 and challenges in youth mental health2 following the COVID-19 pandemic. If implemented with care, AI could help reinforce core instruction and accelerate recovery - but without high-quality content and thoughtful integration, it risks compounding existing learning gaps.
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This report synthesizes key takeaways from the convening into a guide for funders and education leaders working to prepare K-12 systems for AI readiness. At its core, this report calls for thoughtful investment in people, capacity, and infrastructure so that the K-12 education sector can proactively shape an AI-powered future that works for all teachers and students.

ESAs

Source: EdChoice

Date: 5/16/25

The Supply Side of ESAs: How Universal School Choice Programs Have Affected the Number of Private Schools and Home Education Vendors

As universal education savings account (ESA) programs roll out across the country, one big question remains: Are families getting enough options to match their new freedoms?

This report analyzes how school choice policies-particularly universal ESAs-are influencing the education marketplace. The findings suggest a meaningful shift in the supply of educational opportunities: Private school growth is up in choice states. While private school numbers are flat nationwide, states with universal programs like Arizona and Florida are seeing increases. Arizona's ESA program is expanding fast. In just one year, participating schools and vendors grew from 510 to 661, including microschools, co-ops, and online providers. Families are customizing education. Arizona ESA users spent funds with over 100 types of providers. This report also highlights a persistent disconnect between what families say they want and what they currently use-often due to financial and access barriers. ESA programs appear to be reducing those barriers, enabling more families to pursue alternatives that align with their preferences.

These findings offer new insight into how the education supply landscape is evolving in response to expanded parent choice. As more states implement universal ESA programs, understanding these shifts will be critical for policymakers, educators, and providers alike.

Math Education

Source: TNTP

Date: 5/13/25

Unlocking Algebra: What the Data Tells us About Helping Students Catch Up

Mathematics learning is a key part of a strong academic foundation that sets students up to thrive in PK-12 schooling and beyond. As explored in Paths of Opportunity, young people who have access to high-quality academic experiences and excel in school are more likely to earn a living wage and report high levels of well-being in adulthood.

Algebra I, specifically, is an inflection point in young people's education. The course is a gateway to the higher math courses that set students up for college and careers of their choice, including those in the growing STEM sector. Students who pass Algebra I by ninth grade are more likely to graduate high school, attend college, and earn higher salaries when they enter the workforce. Conversely, students who do not complete Algebra I are four times more likely to drop out of high school than those who pass.

Unfortunately, too many young people come to Algebra I with significant gaps due to instructional inconsistencies and interruptions in their mathematics learning over several years. Given the long-term impact of academic success on young people's lives, it's critical to help more students succeed in Algebra I.

So, we asked the question: How can we help more students master Algebra I, especially those who start the course with significant unfinished learning?

To find out, we analyzed three years of data from more than 2,000 math students who used an online learning platform by New Classrooms called Teach to One Roadmaps as a supplement to their core Algebra I classes. Our analysis provided detailed information on how young people learned concepts and skills over time, and on the most effective approaches for catching students up.

Student Achievement

Source: AEI

Date: 5/14/25

Graduation in the Time of COVID: The Weakened Relationship with Chronic Absenteeism

The COVID-19 pandemic and schools' responses to it resulted in learning loss that reversed two decades of progress on student achievement and drove chronic absenteeism to unprecedented heights. Yet graduation rates did not fall over the same period- instead, they rose. How could this be? This report investigates how chronic absenteeism, graduation rates, and the relationship between the two have changed since the years before the pandemic. We find that the relationship between chronic absenteeism and graduation rates weakened by half during the pandemic. That is, a district's chronic absenteeism rate seems to matter less to its graduation rate than it did before the pandemic, controlling for other important factors. If the relationship had not weakened, we estimate the national graduation rate would have been almost three points lower in 2022, equating to over 100,000 fewer graduates in that year alone.

Student Achievement

Source: Manhattan Institute

Date: 5/15/25

The "Nation's Report Card" Is Out Here's What the Results Tell Us About America's Schools

For over 50 years, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the Nation's Report Card, has measured student achievement in reading and math across the United States. The recently released 2024 results confirm a long-term crisis in education, with student performance stagnating or declining despite decades of federal spending and education reform initiatives. Federal interventions such as No Child Left Behind (2002), Common Core (2010), and Every Student Succeeds Act (2015) were designed to improve student academic outcomes. While No Child Left Behind (NCLB) drove improvements in student achievement initially, NAEP scores indicate that progress stalled under Common Core and declined further after Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) weakened accountability measures. More funding has not made a difference. Even as national per-pupil spending has exceeded $17,000 on average per student, reading proficiency has remained unchanged, and math scores are at their lowest in two decades. This paper examines the factors contributing to these declines and proposes evidence-based solutions to improve student achievement.

Vouchers

Source: CAP

Date: 5/15/25

How the School Choice Agenda Harms Rural Students

As proponents of private school voucher programs continue to push for expansion, it is important to highlight the harms these programs can have on rural communities....This report is part of a series from the Center for American Progress examining private school choice programs and offering recommendations to enhance, not detract from, critical resources for public schools.

Review of The Enrollment Decline Windfall

Source: EdChoice

Reviewed by: David E. DeMatthews and Jinseok Shin of the University of Texas at Austin

Most U.S. states continue to heavily rely on per-pupil funding models. Accordingly, projections of declining school-aged populations through 2030-combined with the rapid expansion of private school voucher policies-have raised serious concerns about the future adequacy of public school funding. A recent EdChoice report downplays these concerns.

However, in their review of The Enrollment Decline Windfall,David E. DeMatthews and Jinseok Shin of the University of Texas at Austin explain that the report's analysis is fundamentally flawed due to its overly simplistic treatment of a complex issue.

Priced out: The growing challenge of teacher pay and housing costs

By: Katherine Bowser, National Council on Teacher Quality

While salaries increase over time, dramatic changes in the housing market have left many educators in an unwinnable race for one of our most basic needs: an affordable place to live..

Trump cuts to teacher training grants leave rural districts, aspiring educators in the lurch

By: Chris Berdik, The Hechinger Report

The administration nixed some $600 million in teacher-training grants, citing DEI. Programs to recruit and train rural teachers are cutting scholarships, laying off staff and closing shop

Dangerous National Private School Voucher Program Included in House Budget Legislation

By: Education Law Center

This week the U.S. House of Representatives' Ways & Means Committee approved a bill that includes a wasteful and dangerous private school voucher scheme for the entire nation, even in states where voters have soundly rejected them and elected officials have rightly deemed them a threat to their public schools and students. The legislation containing the voucher program is currently making its way through the House, and the Senate will consider similar legislation as part of the budget reconciliation process.

This Supreme Court Decision Could Determine the Future of Charter Schools

By: Carol Burris, The Progressive Magazine

A ruling in favor of a religious charter school for Oklahoma could disrupt the 'public' status the charter industry enjoys.

House Tax Bill Enlists the Wealthy to Spread Private School Vouchers

By: Carl Davis, Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

The House tax plan cuts charitable giving tax incentives for donors to most nonprofit groups while roughly tripling the incentive available to donors to groups that fund private K-12 school vouchers.

Trump 2.0 Federal Revenue Tool: School and Congressional Districts

By: Education Law Center

The Education Law Center released a new advocacy tool focused on federal PK-12 funding. Using the most recently released Census Survey of School System Finances (F33) reports for the 2022-23 school year, the interactive data tool provides a clear picture of how threats to federal funding would affect school districts as well as congressional districts. The data can be linked to a specific school or congressional district to allow users to easily generate customized talking points targeted to municipal or school district leaders as well as their representatives in Congress.

GreatLakesCenter.org