"AI in Education: A Balancing Act for K-12 School Choice''

Artificial intelligence (AI) has dominated the education headlines in recent years. Stories touting AI as either the savior or destroyer of the education system abound. AI-powered tools like virtual tutors and essay reviewers promise to enhance learning and support overburdened teachers. At the same time, the same technology threatens to undermine assessment integrity and devalue human teaching roles.

The hype paints an extreme picture. The reality lies somewhere in the middle. AI has incredible potential to transform certain aspects of education for the better. However, it also poses risks if deployed irresponsibly. Education leaders need measured optimism. By focusing first on solving defined problems, AI can supplement quality teaching and expand opportunity. But the technology requires thoughtful oversight to ensure it enhances, rather than displaces, the human elements at the core of learning.

# AI Tools in Education

Recent advances in artificial intelligence have led to the development of a variety of AI-powered tools aimed at improving and enhancing education. Two notable examples are proofreading tools and chatbots acting as virtual research assistants.

Proofreading tools utilize natural language processing to scan through students' written work and identify potential errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and style. These tools can check for plagiarism as well. By providing feedback on drafts, proofreading tools allow students to improve their writing skills and submit higher quality work. Teachers also benefit from the time saved not having to meticulously comb through student papers.

Chatbots are AI programs designed to have natural conversations with users. As virtual research assistants, chatbots can understand student questions and provide helpful information by searching through massive databases. They act as an always-available resource for students to get definitions, summaries, and facts checked. Chatbots like this make it easy for students to independently obtain knowledge and expand their learning.

While still early in development and adoption, these AI technologies demonstrate the potential for machine learning to meaningfully enhance education. Students can receive more rapid feedback and support, freeing up teachers to focus on higher-order instruction.

## Challenges of AI in Education

AI tools like ChatGPT have brought both promise and challenges to the world of education. One major issue that has arisen is AI-generated essays that often contain incorrect or fabricated information. Teachers around the world are reporting incidents of students submitting AI-written essays as their own original work. While these essays may be well-written in terms of structure, grammar, and style, they frequently include inaccurate facts, made-up statistics, and other false information. This presents a serious academic integrity issue.

Teachers are also finding they need to "ChatGPT-proof" their test and quiz questions. Because ChatGPT is so adept at answering broad questions, teachers cannot simply give standard test questions and expect the responses to demonstrate real student knowledge. Instead, educators are revising questions to require more complex, analytical thinking that cannot be easily replicated by current AI. Developing quizzes and tests that thwart the use of ChatGPT and other AI tutors requires additional work and training for already busy instructors.

## Growth of K-12 School Choice

A major development in K-12 education over the past few years has been the rapid growth of school choice programs across the United States. This expansion means that more families have the ability to choose alternatives to their assigned public school, with options like charter schools, magnet schools, private schools, homeschooling, and online learning.

In 2022, several states enacted or expanded school choice programs with near-universal eligibility. Eight states - Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma and Utah - now have K-12 choice programs where over 90% of students can participate if they want. Arizona and West Virginia also moved to universal eligibility models in 2022.

With these state-level policy changes, approximately 1 in 5 students nationwide now live in a state with widespread access to K-12 school choice. The overall landscape today is one where around 20 million students across the country are eligible for some type of private K-12 choice program.

When you add in the millions more students who can choose charter schools, magnet schools, or transfer to public schools outside their assigned district, the number of children with access to education options is even higher. Tens of millions of parents have the ability to consider alternatives beyond their neighborhood public school.

## Challenges for Parents

Deciding on a school or tutor — or even searching and filtering them — is a daunting task that factors in so many inputs: safety, quality, cost, community, convenience, extracurricular opportunities and reputation, to name just a handful. With the growth of school choice programs across the country, tens of millions of parents are now looking for ways to determine what school or other education provider is best for their child.

Factors like a school's safety record, teacher quality, tuition costs, transportation options, academic outcomes, arts programs, and general reputation all come into play. It can be incredibly difficult for parents to objectively evaluate these factors across the myriad of traditional public, charter, private, and virtual school options now available. Sorting through school websites, rankings, reviews, and word-of-mouth is time-consuming and confusing. There's a clear need for tools that can synthesize this data into clear, customized recommendations for each student.

## How AI Could Help

AI tools have the potential to greatly assist parents in finding the right educational options for their children. An AI-powered bot could analyze countless sources of information on schools to generate a customized list of options tailored to a family's needs.

Specifically, an AI bot could:

- Scan school websites, local news, government data, review sites, and more to build profiles on each school.

- Identify key factors for each school like teacher quality, transportation, academics, athletics, safety, cost, and extracurricular activities.

- Allow parents to select criteria like location, class size, religious affiliation, special needs services, and more.

- Filter the school options based on the criteria selected to generate a personalized list of recommended schools.

- Highlight relevant information on tuition assistance and eligibility for different school choice programs.

- Continuously update the school profiles and recommendations as new information becomes available.

This kind of AI assistant could save parents an incredible amount of time and effort in researching school options for their children. It would enable customizing results based on each child's unique needs, talents, and interests. Ultimately, it could help families make more informed decisions on the best educational fit.

## Parent Concerns About AI

Month after month, we have seen awareness and concern growing among parents with school-aged children. Polling conducted in November 2022 reported 78% of parents with school-aged children were concerned about the potential effects of AI – nearly 40% at least "very concerned."

A finding like this reinforces what we often suspect — parents are worried and overwhelmed, from small decisions like deciding what to pack for lunch to big ones such as where to send their children to school.

High-income earners and the college-educated are most likely to have heard of AI. Rural and low-income adults are the least likely to have heard of it. There has to be considerable effort to design these tools and access to them for less-resourced communities.

Otherwise, the institutions, social networks and information sources intended to help level the playing field risk leaving behind these parents and students.

## Ensuring Equitable Access

High-income earners and the college-educated are most likely to have heard of and use AI. Rural and low-income families often have less access to technology and may be less likely to use or benefit from AI tools. There needs to be considerable effort to design AI tools with these users in mind, and ensure they are accessible and beneficial for less-resourced communities.

Otherwise, the institutions, social networks, and information sources intended to help level the playing field risk leaving behind these parents and students. As we develop AI tools for education and school choice, we must prioritize making them user-friendly and available to lower-income families. The tools should be designed from the ground up to meet the needs and abilities of all users, not just the most tech-savvy. With thoughtful design, AI could provide a tremendous benefit for underserved families searching for the right educational options. But we must be vigilant to avoid exacerbating existing inequities. AI aimed at simplifying school choice should lift up those most in need of greater access, not become yet another divide.

## Embrace AI Tools with Hope and Pragmatism

The future of AI technologies is one we should embrace with hope, caution and laser-focused pragmatism. There is tremendous potential for AI tools to aid parents and students in navigating the growing education landscape and personalized learning options. However, we must ensure these tools are designed and implemented responsibly, with an eye towards equitable access.

Approaching new education technologies thoughtfully, and continuing to prioritize students' wellbeing and potential, will allow us to embrace a future where AI assists - but does not drive - the human relationships at the heart of learning. The road ahead will require vigilance, but the destination is one of expanded horizons for students from all walks of life.

The future of AI in education is a delicate balance between hope and caution. While AI has the potential to revolutionize K-12 school choice by providing invaluable guidance to parents, it also poses challenges related to accuracy, data privacy, and human-AI interaction. As we navigate this path, it is crucial to prioritize pragmatic approaches that ensure AI technology serves the best interests of students and their families. With responsible development and ongoing adaptation based on critical feedback, AI can play a significant role in advancing personalized, student-centered education in the years to come.

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