27 AI In Education Statistics You Should Know
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The rise of AI is disrupting all kinds of industries – none more than education. Students are turning to popular chatbots to do their work for them, while educators are faced with trying to include productive AI tools in a modern learning environment.
The following AI in education statistics reveal how artificial intelligence is being applied, the attitudes towards it, and what can be expected in the near future.
Most Shocking AI In Education Statistics
AI seemingly came out of nowhere and these shocking AI statistics show just how pervasive it has become in the education system in just a couple of years.
- 43% of US college students admit to using AI tools like ChatGPT for studying.
- 90% of students who study with ChatGPT find it better than using a tutor.
- Half of teachers use AI themselves for lesson planning.
- AI grade prediction technology was able to identify and save over 34,700 failing students.
- The AI education market is predicted to reach $20 billion by 2027.
Student use of AI in education statistics
Although there are some differences between countries and between school-age and college-age students, a significant portion are now fully embracing AI. ChatGPT is the most popular AI generator among students.
1. 67% of UK secondary school students use AI for homework and assignments.
(Source: CryptoPolitan)
The use of AI in UK secondary schools (high school) is now so common, two-thirds of those surveyed admit to using it. This spans all types of school work including quickly solving math problems (42%) and writing essays (41%).
To a lesser degree, AI is also being used for language classes (25%), generating poetry (24%), and helping with physics (20%).
2. Half of Cambridge students have used AI for university work.
(Source: Varsity)
As one of the most prestigious Universities in the UK, the fact that 47.3% of students have used AI to complete work for their degree may split opinions. On one hand, it’s no surprise students are looking for an advantage in such a competitive environment. On the other hand, how does this reflect the true value of a Cambridge degree?
3. 43% of US college students admit to using AI tools like ChatGPT for studying.
(Source: Best Colleges)
Across the pond, a survey of 1,000 college students found less than half (43%) admit to using AI as part of their studies. Half of those that have used AI say they used it explicitly to complete assignments or exams, not just to gather information.
4. One-third of US high school students use ChatGPT.
(Source: GovTech)
While less common among the younger US high school crowd, ChatGPT is still used by 30% of these students. The figure jumps to 47% in the 12-14 age bracket.
5. 35% of Swedish university students use AI ‘regularly’.
(Source: Science Daily)
Of more than 5,000 university students in Sweden, 95% had heard about AI, 56% were positive about using it in their studies, and 35% admit to using it on a regular basis. OpenAI’s ChatGPT was the most popular tool.
6. More than 11% of college and school papers worldwide contain AI-generated content.
(Source: Science Daily)
Using AI as an aid is one thing, but attempting to pass off raw AI-generated content as original work is another. Anonymized data from tens of thousands of college and high school students worldwide found that 11.21% of papers and assignments contained AI-generated content.
The number is higher in high schools (12.18%) and lower in colleges (9.27%).
7. Male students are more likely to use AI than female students.
(Source: Ed Choice)
AI tools like ChatGPT have a greater appeal for male students than females, with 61% of teenage boys saying they have heard about it and 39% having used it. On the other hand, 53% of teenage girls have heard about it and only 17% have used it.
8. Teachers are using AI just as much as students.
(Source: EdWeek)
Around 50% of teachers say they use generative AI as part of the lesson planning process. This includes gathering background information and coming up with engaging ideas for classes.
Attitudes towards AI in education statistics
Although cheating is a common concern, there is generally a positive attitude towards AI and its benefits to students when used the right way.
9. 78% of parents think using AI writing tools for schoolwork is a form of cheating.
(Source: TurnItIn)
A US survey of over 1,000 parents found that the majority were not in favor of their children using AI-generated content for schoolwork and that detection measures should be in place. 45% said they were personally aware of AI being used in ways that schools might find unacceptable.
10. 36% of university students say there have been threats of failure if caught using AI inappropriately.
(Source: ComputerWorld)
There is always the looming threat of professors failing students, but 60% of university students do not want AI chatbots like ChatGPT to be banned outright.
11. 38% of UK secondary school students feel guilty about using AI.
(Source: CryptoPolitan)
There’s no doubt that there’s a stigma to using popular AI tools. Indeed, 38% of students feel a sense of guilt about using them and 36% fear missing out on genuine learning opportunities. However, grade improvements will keep students coming back.
12. Of students that use AI, 68% believe it has improved their grades.
(Source: CryptoPolitan)
Is AI just a natural progression from the vast access to information that the internet has given students over the past 20 years or so? The test may be whether improved grades translate to higher exam scores and genuine knowledge.
13. 90% of students who study with ChatGPT find it better than using a tutor.
(Source: Intelligent.com)
Only 10% of surveyed high school and college students say they have studied using both ChatGPT and a traditional tutor. However, 90% preferred AI over real human tutors. Moreover, the majority have replaced some tutoring sessions completely with AI and 95% say subsequent grade improvements were due to AI tutoring. Math and science were the most common subjects to replace tutors with AI.
14. More than 70% of teachers say AI can help students learn but they’ve had no formal guidance from faculty.
(Source: USA Today)
The majority of teachers feel there is a place for AI in education with 72% accepting it as part of the modern world and 73% believing it benefits learning. However, 70% have received no guidance on how to tackle chesting or incorporate its use effectively. Some of the same thoughts have been raised by students themselves.
15. 61% of US college students believe AI will become the norm.
(Source: Best Colleges)
Despite any concerns, more than half of surveyed college students believe the use of AI will become the ‘new normal’ and the cat is already out of the bag.
16. 60% of US college students say their teachers haven’t advised them on ways to use AI ethically and responsibly.
(Source: Best Colleges)
If Googling information isn’t cheating, is asking ChatGPT? What about taking an AI response, properly sourcing it, and putting it in your own words? Is that plagiarism? It falls on schools and colleges to properly define the rules around AI, so teachers and students can move ahead confidently.
17. 66% of students worry that AI will impact their future careers
(Source: EdWeek)
While students and even teachers are embracing AI in education, a survey of 13- to 17-year-olds reveals that they fear such technology will prevent them from getting a good job in the future. 30% said they were ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ concerned by this matter, following the very real trend of AI taking over jobs.
Beyond popular generative AI tools in education
With the rise of generative AI and popular chatbots like ChatGPT, it’s easy to forget that AI comes in many different forms. These stats show other exciting and useful ways AI is being applied in education beyond ‘writing essays.’
18. More than half of the AI in education market is made up of learning platforms & virtual facilitators.
(Source: GM Insights)
When the various uses of AI in education are categorized, learning management systems and other virtual facilitators make up more than half the market share. Intelligent tutoring systems have less than a quarter of the pie, followed by ‘smart content’ (15.9%).
19. 800,000 students have used AI voice tech to improve their English.
(Source: Edwin)
In 2019 and 2020 an AI-powered adaptive learning tool called Edwin was used to teach more than 800,000 English language students from Korea, Japan, and Latin America. It involved test preparation courses, a human teacher, and a Facebook chatbot. The main benefit was the ability to easily personalize learning for individual students.
20. AI grade prediction technology was able to identify and save over 34,700 failing students.
(Source: Google Edu)
One way AI can improve students’ grades is to accurately identify those at risk of failing so measures can be put in place to help them turn things around.
In 2016, Ivy Tech Community College in Indiana used this technology. 98% of students that received intervention support based on AI predictions obtained a C grade or better. 80% of those that weren’t contacted went on to fail as predicted.
Following the successful pilot study, 34,712 further students have been assisted.
21. AI language app Duolingo has 50 million users a month.
(Source: OpenAI)
Duolingo is a fun language learning app that uses AI to personalize difficulty levels and content based on the user’s in-app behavior. It most recently partnered with ChatGPT to offer voice roleplay and AI conversation partners to make learning more effective.
22. AI can offer non-academic student support with 91% accuracy.
(Source: Google Books)
Education is not just about what happens in a classroom, students need support and guidance within the broader school and campus system too. With that in mind, an AI chat assistant used by the University of Murcia in Spain was able to answer over 38,708 student queries with 91% accuracy.
This type of help bot lets students quickly get answers without having to ask staff in person or wait for email responses.
The future of AI in education statistics
With huge surges in students and teachers using AI informally, experts believe the best approach is to formally integrate generative AI and the types of technology referenced above. Here’s what the future may hold
23. The AI education market is predicted to reach $20 billion by 2027.
(Source: Global Market Insights)
Intelligence tutoring systems, learning management platforms, and smart devices are just some of the AI technologies that make up the growing AI education market. It is expected to hit $20 billion by 2027.
24. Nearly half of learning management systems will incorporate AI by 2024.
(Source: Forbes)
Learning management systems (LMSs) have been an important part of educational institutions and work training programs for decades. However, AI is further streamlining how students are managed and content is delivered with a personalized touch.
25. Academic AI assistance can be up to 80% as accurate as assistance from human educators.
(Source: Stanford)
General support queries are easily answered by help bots, but what about more complex academic questions? Students are increasingly learning at their own pace using digital courses and LMSs, so digital teachers are the next logical step.
Once such AI program developed by Stanford researchers was found to be 80% as accurate as a human professor at providing recommendations to students who needed academic help.
26. Adaptative AI learning systems can improve test scores by 62%.
(Source: Knewton)
The adaptive learning approach by Knewton uses AI to provide tailored feedback, instructions, and entire lesson plans to students based on their own individual needs and capabilities. A study of 10,000 students saw test results improve by 62% due to AI.
27. AI marking tools can help teachers spend 70% less time grading assignments.
(Source: DataMation)
The less time spent working outside the classroom, the more time can be devoted to actually educating students. That’s the premise behind AI-powered grading tools like Gradescope, which claims a 70% reduction in the time spent manually grading work.
Conclusion
The use of popular generative AI tools like ChatGPT by students is still the headline maker. However, it’s the way AI is being formally applied to educational support, tutoring, and learning management systems that might be more important in the long term.
One thing is certain from these AI in education statistics, it isn’t going anywhere soon!
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