TEACHING AT PITT: AI v. AI — A case from the prosecution; University Times, May 15, 2026

  J. D. Wright, University Times; TEACHING AT PITT: AI v. AI — A case from the prosecution

"I’ve spent most of my career in higher education as one of the academic-integrity true believers — a zero-tolerance hardliner who prosecuted apparent violations with a zeal that might have made you wonder whether I was acting on a staunch commitment to the principles of academic honesty or just perceiving lapses in ethical judgment as personal affronts. In many ways, I’m the last person you’d expect to suggest that an enforcement-first approach to academic integrity, especially in recent years, undermines the work of teaching and learning.

And yet, here I am, making precisely that opening argument in support of my case."

Why U.S. Test Scores Are in a ‘Generation-Long Decline’; The New York Times, May 13, 2026

 Claire Cain Miller, Francesca Paris and Sarah Mervosh , The New York Times; Why U.S. Test Scores Are in a ‘Generation-Long Decline’

"Education experts say there is no single reason for the declines. But the timing provides some clues.

Students’ test scores had been increasing since 1990 — then abruptly stopped in the mid-2010s. That coincided with two events: an easing of federal school accountability under No Child Left Behind, which was replaced in 2015, and the rise of smartphones, social media and personalized school laptops....

Screens, screens everywhere

Something happened globally around the same time: the proliferation of devices, at home and in school.

Nearly half of American teenagers now say they are online “almost constantly,” compared with just under a quarter who said that a decade ago, according to Pew Research Center. Virtually all schools give children laptops or tablets in class, as early as kindergarten."