NAIS Research Analyst
Executive Summary
This report, led by the NAIS Department/Division Head Research Cohort (DDHRC), explores generative AI usage within independent schools across the United States, based on responses from 260 department and division heads. The study focuses on two key questions:What classroom policies are independent schools currently implementing regarding AI?
How are schools navigating the process to create AI classroom policies?
Many schools currently lack formalized policies for generative AI, with 45% of the surveyed leaders reporting either that they had no schoolwide guidelines (17%) or that they were in the process of developing them (28%). Among schools that do have policies, only 16% have developed clear, explicit frameworks for classroom use. The rest (38% of the total respondents) rely instead on generalized principles, reflecting an early-stage approac to managing this technology.
Efforts to mitigate risks associated with generative AI are uneven. More than six in 10 schools have updated their student handbooks (63%), and 61% have provided staff training on generative AI usage. However, fewer than 30% have conducted thorough security reviews, and 6% have opted to ban generative AI from the classroom altogether.
When respondents were asked how confident they felt about coaching teachers on generative AI usage in the classroom, the results were mixed. Nearly half (47%) felt moderately confident, while others expressed either high confidence (25%) or significant uncertainty (29%) in their ability to effectively guide educators on generative AI best practices.
Perceptions of generative AI vary significantly across stakeholder groups. Leaders generally perceive students as optimistic about generative AI, with 86% reporting that students view the benefits of AI as outweighing the risks. In contrast, a majority of division and department leaders said that most teachers believe the risks outweigh the benefits. Parents’ perspectives were less understood, with 59% of leaders uncertain about parents’ views on the use of generative AI in education.
When it comes to implementation, ChatGPT is by far the most utilized generative AI platform in schools—94% of schools that use generative AI use ChatGPT. Significantly fewer schools are using other platforms like GPT-4 (42%), highlighting a reliance on a small number of dominant tools in the current educational landscape.
In addition to illuminating schools’ efforts to implement and adjust their policies to reflect the rise of generative AI, respondents in the survey reported a variety of multidisciplinary, generative AI-driven practices that teachers currently use in their classrooms.
This survey reveals both the creative applications and the challenges of generative AI adoption in independent schools, emphasizing the need for clearer policies, robust training, and improved confidence among educators.
Background and Methodology
The NAIS Department/Division Head Research Cohort (DDHRC) was created to integrate these school leaders into NAIS’s research process from the very beginning, rather than incorporating them in post-research feedback. The DDHRC was actively involved in the research process, from January’s development of the research topic to the dissemination of the 2024 Generative AI in Independent Schools Survey. The involvement of Cohort members provided critical feedback and direction throughout the process, and their practical experience helped shape the project’s development and ensure that the research was grounded in real-world educational practices and concerns.The Cohort comprised eight department and division heads from NAIS member schools across the country, representing a variety of school sizes and demographics. In initial meetings, the group identified AI implementation as a key area of interest and relevance to their work in the 2024-2025 school year. Further discussions revealed their desire to explore how schools are crafting and executing AI policies, leading to the report’s focus on two main questions:
- What classroom policies are independent schools currently implementing regarding AI?
- How are schools navigating the process to create AI classroom policies?
Totals may not equal 100% due to rounding.
Downloadable Content
- Read the full report: NAIS Research: 2024 Generative AI in Independent Schools Survey Report (PDF; member login required)