Average reading scores for fourth-grade students in 2024 dropped two points since 2022 and five points since 2019, as measured by the so-called nation's report card. But according to a recent talk at Harvard's Graduate School of Education, the trend of American children reading below their grade levels stretches back decades before the pandemic - and teaching methods that fail to adequately challenge students, counterintuitive as it may seem, could be the culprit.
Research released this month suggests that AI has become fully embedded in how students respond to homework and other assignments. The percentage of high school students who report using generative AI for schoolwork is growing, increasing from an already high 79% to 84% between January and May of this year, according to surveys conducted by College Board, the nonprofit that manages much of the nation's standardized tests, including the SAT.
