Welcome to Playground Post, a bi-weekly newsletter that keeps education innovators ahead of what’s next.

Here’s what we have on deck for today…

1. AI tutoring delivers two years of learning gains

2. Middle schools track how students write papers

3. Districts put COVID money into new books and buildings

AI tutoring delivers two years of learning gains

Students in Nigeria just showed what AI can do in the classroom. An after-school program using AI tutors helped students outperform 80% of traditional education programs, achieving 0.3 standard deviations in learning gains — equivalent to two years of typical progress in just six weeks.

The key? AI can be used as a supplemental tutor alongside teachers rather than as a replacement.

Students who attended more sessions saw bigger improvements, and the program helped close gaps in learning outcomes.

Middle schools track how students write papers

A new way to check student writing is gaining popularity in K-12 schools. Instead of using AI detectors that often make mistakes, teachers now ask students to share their document histories through tools like Google Docs and Grammarly's Authorship feature.

• English teacher Anna Mills has her students install browser extensions that show her how they write — from their typing patterns to how much time they spend on assignments.

• However, some students paste their drafts from other documents, making the tracking less reliable.

Companies are now racing to develop better tools that work for both teachers and students.

Districts put COVID money into new books and buildings

Schools revealed their true spending priorities with pandemic aid. The Department of Education reports districts invested $11 billion in new curriculum and $6 billion in building upgrades in 2022-23 — six times more than tutoring spending.

With this federal aid expiring this month, districts are now seeking sustainable ways to fund these essential updates.

For education innovators: this signals growing demand for cost-effective curriculum solutions and creative facilities financing models.

One in three districts already demonstrated willingness to invest in these areas when given flexible funding. The question now: how will they maintain this momentum?

If you enjoyed this edition of Playground Post, please share it with your friends!

We’ll be back with another edition on Tuesday. See you then!

To stay up-to-date on all things education innovation, visit us at playgroundpost.com.