Other research Straight Arrow examined paints a far more complicated picture of how AI is shaping what students actually learn. The students using the AI tutor did even better, with scores 127% higher than the control group. “There’s two really productive ways that schools are using AI,” South said. It found a negative correlation between how often people use AI tools and their critical-thinking scores. Unguided use of the technology caused real, measurable harm to students’ learning.