A two-year study from Jordan School District confirms SchoolAI meets federal standards for evidence-based educational impact
LEHI, Utah, April 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — SchoolAI, the leading AI learning platform, today released findings from a two-year study conducted in partnership with Jordan School District in Utah, showing that students using the platform demonstrated 28% improved critical thinking over the study period. The research, which was externally reviewed by Instructure, earned SchoolAI an ESSA Tier 3 evidence rating, one of a small number of AI education platforms to receive this independent, evidence-based designation.
SchoolAI’s approach stands apart from general-purpose AI tools, which were built to optimize for speed and productivity. Rather than producing answers, SchoolAI was purpose-built to deepen thinking, giving teachers the architecture to design learning experiences where AI guides the reasoning process rather than replacing it. To measure whether that design philosophy translates into meaningful student outcomes, researchers conducted a two-year study in partnership with Jordan School District in Utah.
Researchers analyzed 13,882 anonymized student-AI conversations from 82 teachers across the district, which serves approximately 55,000 students across 68 schools in the greater Salt Lake City area. The conversations were gathered at two points in time: October 2023, shortly after SchoolAI launched, and October 2025, after two years of classroom use. Each conversation was scored on a four-level critical thinking scale grounded in Bloom’s Taxonomy, ranging from basic recall to analysis, evaluation, and creation.
“This study set out to ask whether SchoolAI’s approach could coach students toward analysis, evaluation, and genuine understanding,” said Cynthia Chiong, Principal Research Scientist at SchoolAI. “What the data shows is that when AI is purpose-built for pedagogy, and when teachers are given the tools to design intentional learning experiences, students rise to meet a higher cognitive bar.”
Conversations scoring at Levels 3 and 4, the analytical and evaluative tiers of Bloom’s Taxonomy, more than doubled over the two-year period, rising from 11.4% of all student-AI conversations in October 2023 to 25.5% in October 2025. Meanwhile, conversations showing no observable critical thinking fell by nearly 19 percentage points, and by 2025, nearly half of all exchanges reflected higher-level thinking. Critically, the improvements were tied to meaningful engagement with the platform: teachers who actively designed learning experiences, creating six or more unique “Spaces” with SchoolAI, showed significant gains, while those with minimal usage did not.
“What we saw over two years wasn’t students becoming dependent on AI for answers, but rather students learning to think harder because the AI was designed to expect more of them,” said Deanna Taylor, Digital Learning Specialist at Jordan School District. “Student engagement increased, leading them to become more active participants in their own learning. That’s a distinction that matters enormously for how districts evaluate and implement these tools.”
The study’s ESSA Tier 3 certification signals that SchoolAI’s impact on student outcomes is supported by well-designed research with controls for selection bias. For district leaders and educators evaluating AI platforms, ESSA certification provides an independent, evidence-based benchmark that is crucial for informed technology decisions. SchoolAI is among a small number of AI education platforms to earn this designation.
The full research report, including detailed methodology and findings by grade level and subject area, is available at https://schoolai.com/research/schoolai-makes-students-think
SchoolAI is a leading AI platform transforming teaching and learning across K-12 and higher education. Founded in 2021 on the belief that every student deserves personalized attention, SchoolAI provides powerful AI tools that help teachers understand and support each student’s unique needs. The platform combines adaptive AI tutors, interactive activities, and customized lessons that adapt to individual learning styles, while giving educators real-time insights and reducing administrative workload. Launched for classrooms in August of 2023, SchoolAI is trusted by educators in more than 1 million classrooms across all 50 U.S. states and over 80 countries. Their Classroom Experience platform maintains the highest standards for student privacy and security with full FERPA and COPPA compliance and SOC 2 certification. SchoolAI continues to lead responsible AI adoption in education by partnering directly with districts to ensure safe, effective implementation that enhances rather than replaces quality instruction.
CONTACT: Media Contact: Gena Ritter gritter@wearecsg.com
