K-12 IT leaders overwhelmingly agree that artificial intelligence (AI) is vital for students’ success, but most districts are still stuck in pilot mode, according to new MeriTalk research.
More than half report they have distributed AI tools to students and faculty, and included some form of AI education in their curriculum. Notably – almost all (92%) – report that they see productivity gains from Gen AI.
Ninety-one percent of K-12 IT leaders say “getting AI right” is essential to students’ success. However, only 17% have scaled AI across multiple workflows in their districts, and 76% say they are more likely to launch a new pilot than expand an existing one, according to the study, “Sandbox to Scale: The people, processes, and platforms needed to accelerate AI in K-12 education,” underwritten by Dell Technologies and NVIDIA.
The pilots delivering the most value today focus on core classroom and student support needs: personalized student tutoring and adaptive learning (59%), reducing administrative tasks for teachers (55%), and early warning systems for student support (44%).
And, as IT leaders look ahead, they say the greatest opportunities for AI to make an impact in schools by 2030 also include professional development for teachers and cybersecurity resilience.
IT leaders point to technical and cultural barriers to scale, however. They say the top reasons AI projects stall or fail are difficulty integrating with existing systems, poor data quality or availability, and cultural resistance among users. Together, these challenges explain why promising AI efforts can remain stuck in pilot mode.
Governance and infrastructure are both crucial to near-term success. When asked about the No. 1 factor in AI success over the next five years, K-12 leaders ranked scalable, secure infrastructure at the top, followed by actionable governance and an AI-fluent workforce.
The research explores:
- Top AI priorities for K-12 IT teams
- Greatest opportunities for AI to impact K-12 experiences and outcomes
- The top steps to successfully scale pilot projects district-wide
For insights, download the research: “Sandbox to Scale: The people, processes, and platforms needed to accelerate AI in K-12 education.”