A student can simply copy and paste a prompt into a chatbot and receive a polished paragraph, a five-paragraph essay, a lab summary or a reading response almost instantly. Teachers may then be left wondering whether the work reflects the student’s thinking and actual work or what the chatbot generated.As an assistant professor of school psychology studying artificial intelligence in K–12 education, I think the question is not only whether students are using AI to cheat, but whether there is evidence that learning actually happened.Many schools are still deciding whether and how they allow their students to use AI for coursework. hapabapa/iStock/Getty Images Plus
Cheating and plagiarism are common worries
I recently surveyed public school educators and administrators about how generative AI is affecting schools to better understand the answer to this question.
My study, conducted from spring 2025 to spring 2026, included 303 educators and other school professionals in Wisconsin – teachers, administrators, IT staff and technology directors, as well as school psychologists and counselors. I also surveyed another 132 professionals at schools across the country.
The results are not nationally representative, but they offer a snapshot of how some K–12 professionals are thinking about AI and student learning.
