What are PISA 2025 Results telling us about AI in education?
AI use is already widespread among 15-year-olds. Across OECD countries, only 14% of students reported never or almost never using AI chatbots for the schoolwork purposes examined
The latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2025 Results highlight the complex relationship between using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education and actual learning outcomes. Across OECD countries, only 14% of 15-year-olds reported never or almost never using AI chatbots for schoolwork, indicating widespread AI use.
However, the correlation between AI use and student performance is not straightforward. While students who didn't use AI for tasks like summarising texts and preliminary research generally performed better in science, moderate users of AI performed best in these areas. This suggests that AI can help students produce better answers without necessarily fostering deeper understanding.
As AI becomes more proficient at reading, calculating, and generating answers, the role of foundational skills like reading, numeracy, and computational problem-solving becomes even more crucial. These skills empower students to critically evaluate information, interpret numerical data, and solve complex problems using digital tools.
PISA 2025 introduces a new "Learning in the Digital World" domain to assess students' ability to navigate and engage with AI-generated information. This assessment emphasizes the need for AI literacy beyond merely using chatbots, encouraging students to question responses, verify claims, recognise uncertainty, and make informed decisions about AI usage.
An equity concern arises as disadvantaged students are less likely to engage in school activities that promote AI evaluation. Consequently, the digital divide may stem from disparities in AI literacy rather than mere access. Education systems must therefore consider whether AI in classrooms is enhancing learning or merely streamlining tasks.
The key is to automate friction in the learning process while preserving the cognitive effort that fosters genuine understanding. Students need to develop strong reading, numeracy, and computational problem-solving abilities to remain intellectually in command when working with powerful AI systems.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu - Sci-Tech's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
