Features

AI’s impact on students’ school work

By: Kellie Hastrup, Editor • June 8, 2026

Photo Credit: Photo used with permission from Kellie Hastrup

The generative AI platform, ChatGPT, was released to the public in late 2022. Since then, nearly one billion people have used it.

Since the public release of generative AI (Artificial Intelligence), people around the world with internet have been using it. According to College Board, “Over 85% of high schoolers and 92% of college students use generative AI tools.”

In late 2022, the public release of ChatGPT sparked the start generative AI. While AI existed in some form for years before, AI platforms like ChatGPT are a new and different kind.

Notably, students are among the top consumers of AI. Every year, more and more students use AI for their school work. Contrary to its popularity, students are affected negatively when they use AI.

A Google form was created with questions regarding AI platform use. The survey was given to members of Colonia High School to fill out. Most people that filled out the form used AI in some way or another in their daily life.

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Overall, most people that took the survey said they have used AI but believe it’s morally wrong to do so. Along with that, most people believe that AI will take over jobs and schools.

AI’s impact on students’ school work

History of AI

The first instance of "Artificial Intelligence" being used was marked in 1956 by John McCarthy who coined the term. John McCarthy was a professor at Dartmouth College when he began developing AI.

The capabilities and uses of AI has fluxuated throughout history. When it first began, AI was early forms of robotic computers. AI could only play chess and checkers. Into the 60s, AI evolved into solving mathematic problems. AI machines were then implemented in factories. This is when AI started to take over work places. In 1965, Herbert Simon claimed that "machines will be capable, within twenty years, of doing any work a man can do." according to Forbes.

While AI was advancing, doubts also started to rise. Some people believed that computers could not do the same things that the human mind can. insert quote

In 1968, AI made its first movie appearance in "2001: Space Odyssey". After this point, AI developed from a simple robot into problem solving machine. Scientists also began implementing language systems into AI which unlocked speaking. AI was steadily advancing over years until ChatGPT's release. Since then AI has spread all over the internet.

ChatGPT's involvement

Generative AI such as ChatGPT has contributed a massive rise in public AI usage. Exploding Topics claims that even in its first month's release, ChatGPT had one million weekly users. After three years, that number has risen up to 810 million weekly users.

Exploding Topics also reports that ChatGPT is the top AI platform that people use. According to the survey that was released to Colonia High school students and staff, ChatGPT ranked as the number one AI platform people use.

It's stated in The New York Times and Pew Research Center that in 2024, the number of students who used ChatGPT for school work rose to 26%. That is double the amount from the previous year. The most recent study done in 2025 found that 47% of students used ChatGPT in some way for school.

Unauthorized AI use equals plagiarism

Colonia High School's AI policy states that "Unauthorized, AI-generated/AI-assisted work submitted as original is a form of cheating and will be considered plagiarism." If a student uses AI without consulting their teacher, they could receive a zero on their assignment and be reported for plagiarism.

The policy also states "The teacher may also report the incident to the student's parents/guardians, guidance counselor and the school administrators. A parental conference with school officials may also be required." Depending on the severity of the situation, students can face serious repercussions for AI use.

Cheating with AI

In Emmanuel College's article, they state that students tend to cheat because of pressure from society to achieve good grades. Success is measured by a number rather than a student's capacity. And so, students look for sources that can help them cheat.

Teachers generally agree that it's disappointing when students use AI to cheat. "Really not mad but disappointed energy. I think it's frustrating because I can understand the temptation to use it but I think it's a short sighted shortcut that's essentially going to keep them from developing their own critical thinking skills and develop their own ideas." Brian Long, an English teacher at Colonia High school expresses.

Likewise, students say AI does not have a place in schools. "No, because students don't learn by using AI." Sophia Vitale, a senior at Colonia High school states.

Although most believe AI is bad for homework, some say it will eventually take over workplaces and schools. According to the survey, 55% of people believe AI will take over jobs/school.

The short and long lasting effects on students

Public use of generative AI is only a recent event of the 2020s. Accordingly, most of the impacts AI has on students hasn't come out yet. "I think it's still relatively new so I don't think I've seen the long term impact. I interact with students who are seniors so I have a hard time seeing the long term impact." Brian Long states. The public has only had access to generative AI for around three years now.

Scientific studies from Cambridge University Press & Assessment and Microsoft Research have shown that when students used AI to summarize texts, their reading comprehension was lower than students who didn't use AI. In the Google form survey, 20% of people reported that they use AI to summarize texts.

Generally, people believe AI is a shortcut to completing school work. Most only use it to get the task at hand done. This becomes an issue when students aren't actually learning the material. AI becomes the only one to gain knowledge.

Since ChatGPT is still so new to the public, the lasting impacts have yet to be discovered. However, lost of basic skills and knowledge have already started in most students who use AI. When students rely on technology to do their work, they lose out on actual learning.

About the Contributor

Kellie Hastrup, Editor

Kellie Hastrup is a 17 year old senior at Colonia High School. She has a younger brother and a tortoiseshell cat named Torre. She is currently the president of Fashion Club and is in 3 honor societies. In her free time, she likes to crochet, paint, and various other arts and crafts. In addition, she loves reading and writing. She plans to study filmmaking and hopes to become a screenwriter in the future. Hastrup’s favorite book is “The Great Gatsby” as she believes that the symbolism and characters were excellently written. Her favorite music genres are pop, rock, alternative and more.

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AI’s impact on students’ school work

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