Teachers Overhaul Classrooms as Generative AI Transforms Education in US Schools

Teachers Redesign Assessment Methods Amid Rise of Generative AI

US middle and high school teachers are fundamentally rethinking how they assess learning as generative AI becomes ubiquitous in classrooms1

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. In San Francisco, sixth-grade humanities teacher Tristen Chang eliminated take-home essays last year, replacing them with oral exams that test students on character, plot, theme and metaphor through 15 questions answerable in as little as five minutes2

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. "There's been a long march of technology changing teaching, but AI is the most drastic," Chang said. "Everything's out the window."3

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According to Reuters interviews with a dozen teachers and education experts across the country, educators are assigning less take-home work, increasing in-class writing and discussion, and redesigning assignments to measure students' thinking rather than simply their answers1

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. School systems remain divided over AI in education, leaving many teachers to navigate the transition largely on their own. Some want AI integration into classrooms; others want it restricted, while many occupy a middle ground2

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Classroom Adaptation Prioritizes In-Class Learning

As students gain access to AI chatbots on their phones and laptops, teachers are moving more learning back into the classroom1

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. They are increasingly relying on in-class writing, instruction and face-to-face assessment. Rusty Shabe, who teaches middle school English in San Francisco, said students often turn to AI at home when they feel overwhelmed. He is combating that impulse by devoting more classroom time to writing, taking a month to work on an essay with seventh-graders3

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Bobson Wong, a high school math teacher in New York, now assigns fewer homework questions and more in-class practice so he can better monitor how his students are working. "AI has definitely changed not just how students do math, but how I teach it," Wong said2

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. Meghan Hyland, a high school English teacher in a New York City suburb, realized last spring that some students were heading to the bathroom to access AI on their phones. She began requiring students to leave phones behind when they left the classroom and made classwork a bigger component of students' grades while stopping reliance on homework as practice1

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AI-Driven Transformation Sparks Debate on Learning Outcomes

AI's effect on learning remains up for debate among educators and researchers. A 2025 Harvard randomized trial found that a custom AI tutor improved learning gains and student engagement, while a small 2025 MIT Media Lab study found that people who used ChatGPT to write essays did the work faster but appeared to do less thinking3

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. Even so, AI is becoming a fixture in education: a 2025 RAND survey found that the majority of US students and English, math and science teachers reported using AI for schoolwork2

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"Where many adults are using these tools for various kinds of purposes to help them in work-based settings, we haven't really figured out what that means for education," said Antero Garcia, an education professor at Stanford University and president of the National Council of Teachers of English1

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. The disconnect between workplace AI adoption and educational practices highlights the challenge teachers face in preparing students for an AI-integrated future while ensuring they develop critical thinking skills.

Educational Practices Shift to Outsmart AI Chatbots

For some educators, the best way to beat AI is to avoid predictable questions. Because AI is adept at answering conventional questions about character and plot, some teachers have begun asking students for interpretations that depart from mainstream thinking2

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. "I try very hard to create prompts that, at the moment at least, AI is imperfect at responding to," said Pian Rockfeld, a high school English teacher in the Bronx3

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. Among her strategies: assigning essays that require students to read scholarly articles that typically sit behind a paywall, protected from AI chatbots1

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"My main ability to understand whether they know how to do critical thinking has to be done in school," Hyland said2

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. She has developed new ways to assess comprehension, such as assigning a cooking demonstration to show how students understand "A Tale of Two Cities." A black-and-white cookie, for example, represented the book's famous opening line about the best of times and worst of times3

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Teachers Remaking Classrooms by Limiting Technology Use

For some teachers, AI is accelerating a broader backlash against classroom technology, motivating them to move away from screens and toward notebooks, pen-and-paper writing and physical projects1

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. Rex Ovalle, a high school English teacher in a Chicago suburb, tells students to retrieve a composition notebook from a box at the start of class. He limits Chromebook use to roughly 10% of school days. "I have seen a lot of engagement because you can't hide when the laptops are away," Ovalle said2

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While Chromebooks and other technology became pervasive during the COVID-19 pandemic, many school districts are now re-evaluating their technology use amid concerns about excessive screen time3

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. In Hyland's English classes, students write by hand except when they require special accommodations1

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. This shift represents a significant reversal from the technology-first approach that dominated education in recent years, as teachers prioritize authentic student engagement over digital convenience in the AI age.