AI in schools faces privacy pushback, public support dips
AI education news for week 34 in 2025.
Good morning, AI educators.
This week saw growing caution around classroom AI, with privacy and public support under scrutiny. One new study suggests AI can help scale marking and feedback without lowering standards.
In This Weeks News
US districts face renewed pressure to protect student data as AI tools expand.
Public support for some K-12 uses of AI fell year on year in a major poll.
UK debate on the £187m TechFirst plan stresses lifelong skills beyond schools.
A randomised trial finds AI-assisted grading can match small-class feedback at scale.
Universities are urged to balance hands-on making with AI to protect critical thinking.
Districts face new scrutiny over student data in AI rollouts
Details:
Districts are adopting AI for tutoring, grading and analytics, often via third-party vendors.
Privacy advocates warn of broad data collection, unclear retention and weak auditing.
Existing US laws, FERPA and COPPA, do not fully address modern AI data flows.
Practical steps recommended include vendor audits, data minimisation and opt-out clarity.
Why it matters: Schools can save time with AI, but without tight data controls they risk breaches, loss of trust and policy pushback.
Axios, 21 August 2025
Americans grow more sceptical about AI in K-12
Fresh polling shows support has slipped for several school uses of AI compared with last year.
Details:
Fewer respondents back AI uses such as grading and lesson planning than in 2024.
Concerns cited include accuracy, bias, data privacy and over-reliance by students.
Despite this, many still favour targeted, transparent classroom use.
Results point to a need for clearer guardrails and parent communication.
Why it matters: Classroom adoption will stall without credible guardrails, transparent data practices and clear curriculum value.
Education Week, 22 August 2025.
AI Education News in Brief
UK debate over £187m TechFirst stresses lifelong upskilling, not schools alone. A UK commentary argues the skills plan must link schools, colleges and workplaces, with practical training and regional nuance to deliver impact. TechRadar Pro, 19 August 2025.
Wired profiles teachers using AI to cut workload while keeping guardrails. Teachers describe time savings in planning and differentiation, alongside cautious classroom routines and integrity checks. Wired, 18 August 2025.
Campus life is changing as AI becomes a student survival tool. Reporting from US campuses shows near-ubiquitous AI use to manage workload, with faculty experimenting with assessment shifts. The Atlantic, 18 August 2025.
In the age of AI, a case for making things in class. An opinion piece argues for hands-on making, to preserve judgement and critical thinking as written coursework becomes automatable. Financial Times, 20 August 2025.
AI Studies Released This Week
AI-assisted grading can scale personalised feedback in large classes. A randomised trial across four undergraduate courses found LLM-assisted grading and feedback produced outcomes comparable to instructor grading, improving feedback reach without obvious quality loss. 19 August 2025.
PLOS ONE.
In Other AI News
Meta signs a more than 10 billion dollar, six year Google Cloud deal to power AI compute.
Reuters.Anthropic offers Claude to all three branches of the US government for 1 dollar to spur adoption and testing.
Reuters.YouTube will test an AI age verification system in the US that estimates age from viewing patterns, with manual checks for mistakes.
AP News.