Nonprofit Review Finds Mixed Results for AI Learning Tools in Classrooms

Instruction Partners, a nonprofit education consulting organization, published a review of 20 AI learning tools used in classrooms, built from 16 in-depth product profiles and observations in 16 school systems, Education Week reported on September 14, 2026. The project, called the AI Learning Tour and led by Instruction Partners CEO Emily Freitag, found that general-purpose AI chatbots carried more risk for student learning than tools built specifically for instruction, while none of the reviewed products were ready to handle the pedagogical work of teaching on their own.

The review sorted the 20 AI learning tools into three categories: general-purpose chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini; multi-purpose education tools such as MagicSchool and Google Classroom’s AI features; and single-purpose instructional tools built for one task, such as Amira Learning’s reading practice software. Each profile draws on interviews with teachers, students, district and building leaders, and the tools’ own developers, combined with Instruction Partners’ analysis and any available effectiveness studies.

What the review found

“We definitely saw the biggest risks from the general-purpose chatbots,” Freitag told Education Week, describing concerns that unstructured use of tools like ChatGPT could leave student learning weaker rather than stronger when used without guardrails. Purpose-built instructional tools generally showed more promise in the review, though the report also flagged specific weaknesses, including some tools that rewrote text at a lower reading level in ways that raised concerns among educators about reduced academic rigor.

The review’s authors and outside educators quoted by Education Week cautioned that the analysis has limits. Bridie Lee of the advocacy group Schools Beyond Screens in Los Angeles noted the project did not evaluate data privacy or security practices, an omission she said leaves districts without the whole picture before adopting a tool. Lewis Ferebee, CEO of the curriculum-review nonprofit EdReports and a former chancellor of Washington, D.C. public schools, was also cited in the coverage in connection with the review’s findings.

Building on earlier observations

Freitag previewed early findings from the project in a November 3, 2025 post on the Instruction Partners website, written after she had spoken with 14 product founders and 8 teacher “superusers” and observed four products in classrooms. At that stage she raised concerns that AI tools could let students “offload the hard thinking” required to learn, and that unsupervised use of AI could create what she described as a lonely setup for students working alone with a chatbot rather than with peers or a teacher. The full 20-tool review published in September 2026 expands that early work into the 16 detailed product profiles covered by Education Week.

Separately, Instruction Partners also runs a companion video series called AI in Action, publishing monthly developer interviews about specific classroom tools including Brisk Teaching, Coursemojo, Google’s Gemini in Google Classroom, Kiddom, MagicSchool, Magma Math, Quill.org and others released between March and August 2026. Instruction Partners has said it plans to work with Stanford University’s AI in Education Lab on future evidence reviews of classroom AI tools.

For context on how individual AI products for teachers have scaled this year, OpenAI’s expansion of ChatGPT for Teachers to 55 school systems and Anthropic’s free Claude for Teachers launch for US K-12 schools illustrate the general-purpose chatbot category the AI Learning Tour flagged as highest-risk. On the research side, the OECD’s 2026 data on generative AI in education similarly distinguished between AI helping students complete tasks and AI helping them learn.

About Instruction Partners

Instruction Partners is a US nonprofit that works with school districts and states on curriculum, instructional coaching and, more recently, evaluation of classroom AI tools. Led by CEO Emily Freitag, the organization began publicly tracking AI tool adoption in classrooms in late 2025, when Freitag published early observations from interviews with product developers and teachers who were early users of AI in their classrooms. That early-stage work grew into the AI Learning Tour, a structured review of 20 tools across 16 school systems that Instruction Partners published in September 2026, alongside a separate ongoing video interview series with tool developers. The organization has said it intends to continue evaluating classroom AI products in partnership with Stanford University’s AI in Education Lab in the coming school year.

Sources: Education Week; Instruction Partners

Featured image: photo by Yan Krukau on Pexels (free Pexels license).

Become a Sponsor

Our website is the heart of the mission of WINSS – it’s where we share updates, publish research, highlight community impact, and connect with supporters around the world. To keep this essential platform running, updated, and accessible, we rely on the generosity of you, who believe in our work.

We offer the option to sponsor monthly, or just once choosing the amount of your choice. If you run a company, please contact us via info@winssolutions.org.

• donate monthly
• donate once only

Select a Donation Option (USD)

$5.00 (p/m) $10.00 (p/m) $20.00 (p/m) Other (p/m)

Enter Donation Amount (USD)

Figen Sekin

I specialize in sustainability education, curriculum co-creation, and early-stage project strategy. At WINSS, I craft articles on sustainability, transformative AI, and related topics. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me chasing the perfect sushi roll, exploring cities around the globe, or unwinding with my dog Puffy — the world’s most loyal sidekick.