AI-driven literacy crisis
The overreliance on AI-enabled devices has become a crutch that most students can’t do without, according to Maria.
“A lot of these kids don’t know how to read because they’ve had things read to them or they can click a button and have things read out loud to them in seconds,” she explained. “Their attention spans are weaning because everything is high-stimulation and they can just scroll [away from something] in less than a minute. They can’t sit still for very long.”
Annual reading and math skill assessments by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) seem to confirm her observation. Average scores have declined 7 points in reading and 14 points in mathematics over the past decade.
Younger kids are struggling too. Less than half (47%) of kindergarten students were able to read at grade level during the 2021 to 2022 school year, according to Real Clear Education.
School-aged children may be struggling with reading because they’re not practicing as much as they used to. According to Steam Ahead’s analysis of National Assessment of Educational Progress data, only 17% of 13-year-olds reported reading for fun almost daily — the lowest rate since 1984.
Instead, children find screen time more engaging and enjoyable. A study published in the JAMA Pediatrics medical journal found that adolescents aged 13 to 18 years spend 8.5 hours daily on average using screen-based media.
This tech addiction is leaving many young Americans unprepared for life outside school, according to Maria.
“I understand that the world is going in a direction where AI is going to be more prevalent, even in the workforce someday,” she said. “That still doesn’t take away [from the fact that] these are basic skills you need to survive.”
She calls on regulators and school boards to step in and solve the issue before it’s too late.
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Learn MoreRethinking education
Maria’s recommended solution for the problem is to “cut off technology from these kids, probably until they go to college.”
More than a third of U.S. adults seem to share Maria’s view that the use of AI has “very or somewhat negative” impacts on the K12 education system, according to a 2023 YouGov poll.
However, most adults are not in favor of restrictions or an outright ban. Only 24% of U.S. adults said students should be prevented from using AI while 52% said schools should teach children how to use AI appropriately.
Nevertheless, if AI tools become more potent and pervasive while literacy rates continue to drop, teachers, regulators and parents may have to rethink the way they educate the next generation.
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