Offering AI tutoring tools to students is not enough to create meaningful engagement and improve reading outcomes, according to a recent Stanford University study cited in a K-12 Dive article.
Only about 61% in one school district and 53% in the other district studied used the AI tutor even when there was scheduled time to use the tool, according to the research. Overall, students’ average weekly usage amounted to 2.18 minutes and 5.23 minutes for each district, respectively.
When students used the AI tutoring platform alongside a human tutor, student engagement slightly increased by one minute per week in one district and by 4.4 minutes per week in the other. Researchers said that difference falls short of the 30 minutes of weekly use recommended by the platform provider for measurable reading gains.
AI tutors can personalize instruction, but their benefits rely on consistent student use — whether or not AI tutors are augmented with human support, according to the research.
“Discussions about AI tutoring often focus on the quality of the technology itself, but these findings suggest that implementation and student engagement may be equally important determinants of impact,” the Stanford study said.
The Stanford study partnered with two school districts as they used an AI literacy platform alongside human tutors. Researchers analyzed students in grades 1-5 who received AI tutoring across five after-school programs with program staff as tutors in District A. For District B, students in grades 1-3 used the AI tutoring tool during the school day with middle school students as tutors.
The study pointed out that “students who used the AI tutor were less likely to use special education services and more likely to be higher achieving.”
Arizona, Iowa, Indiana and Maryland are among the states that have experimented with AI tutoring pilots in their K-12 classrooms in recent years. Here are some specifics:
- In October 2025, the Arizona Department of Education announced that 170,000 students — 16% of all public school students in the state — were using AI tutoring through Khanmigo, a tool from Khan Academy. The state invested $1.5 million for the initiative in 2024.
- The Iowa Department of Education also launched a $3 million yearlong project in 2024 for an AI-powered personalized reading tutoring program, known as Amira, for elementary students.
- During the 2023-24 school year, the Indiana Department of Education supported a one-year high-dosage AI tutoring program at 112 schools. The initiative was part of Indiana’s AI-Powered Platform Pilot Grant.
Actual use of AI tutoring tools was lower than what Indiana schools requested, partly because of a quick launch and a delay in some schools completing vendor training, the department reported.
- The Maryland Department of Education also rolled out a two-year pilot program with Khanmigo’s AI tutor in the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years with 4,350 student licenses.
- Virginia is gearing up to implement its own pilot that includes using AI for tutoring and instruction as required by a new state law enacted in April.
Interest in AI tutoring is growing, but there has been little research or evidence on the efficacy of the tools. Those initiatives also could slow as policy momentum is gaining to limit ed tech — including AI tools, particularly for younger students — in schools.
K-12 Dive
