MELISSA KAY DILIBERTI, HEATHER L. SCHWARTZ, SY DOAN, ANNA SHAPIRO, LYDIA R. RAINEY,
ROBIN J. LAKE
Using Artificial Intelligence
Tools in K–12 Classrooms
T
he release of such generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools as ChatGPT in 2022 was a
major advancement in the field of AI (Tugend, 2023). Two burning questions for K–12 edu-
cators are to what extent new generative AI tools will change teaching and whether they will
improve learning (Bailey, 2023; Jimenez, 2023; Prothero, 2023; Ta and West, 2023).
The answers to these questions are not yet clear and likely will not be for some time. But to
learn firsthand from educators the ways in which AI is beginning to affect teaching and learning in
K–12 public schools, we surveyed and interviewed educators across the United States. Specifically,
we surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,020 teachers using RAND’s American Teacher
Panel (ATP) in fall 2023. We also surveyed a nationally representative sample of 231 public school
districts in fall 2023, and we interviewed 11 leaders from these districts in December 2023 and
January 2024.
1
The districts we sur-
veyed and the leaders we interviewed
are members of the ASDP. The ASDP
is a research partnership between
RAND and the Center on Reinvent-
ing Public Education. (The panel
also collaborates with several other
education organizations, including
the Council of the Great City Schools
and Kitamba.)
We combine the perspectives of
K–12 teachers and district leaders
in this report to construct the most
comprehensive picture to date of how
educators are engaging with genera-
tive AI tools for teaching. Teachers
reported how they actually use AI
tools in their practices, and district
leaders reported whether and how
they are providing policies, guidance,
and training on the use of AI tools.
KEY FINDINGS
■ As of fall 2023, 18 percent of K–12 teachers reported using
AI for teaching and another 15 percent have tried AI at least
once.
■ Middle and high school teachers and those who taught Eng-
lish language arts or social studies were more likely to be AI
users.
■ Among those teachers who use AI for teaching, most were
using virtual learning platforms, adaptive learning systems,
and chatbots on a weekly basis.
■ The most common ways that teachers used AI tools were to
adapt instructional content to fit the level of their students
and to generate materials.
■ By the end of the 2023–2024 school year, 60 percent of dis-
tricts plan to have trained teachers about AI use. Urban dis-
tricts were the least likely to deliver such training.
■ In interviews, leaders described focusing more on increas-
ing teachers’ AI use and less on crafting student use policy,
primarily because they saw the potential for AI to make teach-
ers’ jobs easier.
Research Report
