05-22-2026IMPACT COUNCIL

AI’s real test in education is outcomes

As AI spreads through classrooms, the only question that matters is whether it strengthens or shortcuts learning.

[Photo: Getty Images]

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Generative AI arrived in education everywhere all at once. Today’s students are surrounded by tools that promise help, answers, and efficiency at every turn. But learning has never been about convenience alone. As AI reshapes how students engage with academic material, the questions are whether it is being built to support how humans actually learn and ultimately improve outcomes.

New research on millions of actual higher education student interactions in digital course materials suggests that the answer lies in a deceptively simple idea: active reading (and in AI designed to support it, not replace it).

Active reading is a well‑established concept in learning science. It describes how effective readers interact with text: testing their understanding, highlighting key ideas, asking questions, taking notes, and revisiting challenging........

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