AI Boosted Homework Scores by 18% – Then Exam Scores Dropped 20%, Study Shows
A study of 27,000 students in China found that while AI tools improved homework scores by 18%, students performed 20% worse on exams taken without AI assistance. The findings suggest that AI reliance may hinder the development of independent problem-solving skills.
Why it matters
This research provides empirical evidence that AI-assisted learning may create a 'dependency trap' that negatively impacts long-term knowledge retention and exam performance.
A new study tracking 27,000 students in China has found that pupils who used artificial intelligence tools saw higher homework scores over time, but performed worse than their peers on exams taken without AI assistance, according to research covered by The Economist on August 18.
The research was conducted by David Stromberg of Stockholm University along with Victor Lei and Wu Yanhui of the University of Hong Kong. The study followed 27,000 pupils aged 12 to 18 in China, where adoption of AI tools among students has grown quickly. Around 80% of the students surveyed reported using AI models such as Doubao and DeepSeek, while the remaining 20%, who did not use such tools, formed a control group.
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