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Students who use AI score great on homework, but bad on tests: large-scale new study

Nypost · 🇨🇳 public China · · 385 words · By Anthony Blair
Academic Performance AI in Education
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What to know about Academic Performance

Students who use AI score great on homework, but bad on tests: large-scale new study See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 8
Techniques found 1
Topics 2

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center86%
Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Students who use AI score great on homework, but bad on tests: large-scale new study See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The New York Post on Google Artificial intelligence is great for schoolwork — until you can’t use it on the test, a large-scale new study shows.

Common ground

Students who used AI to write their homework got better scores and finished their work in record time —but did worse on exams than kids who did things the old-fashioned way, according to new research out of China.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/08/19/world-news/students-who-use-ai-score-great-on-home…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 70% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 8 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5
verified Verified By Reference 2
info Single Source 1
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Claim 1: “All the while, the time they took to complete each assignment dropped from 64 minutes to 45, according to The Economist.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources explicitly state that assignment completion time dropped from 64 minutes to 45 minutes, attributing the information to The Economist.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Basic Technology Research Co., Ltd., doing business as DeepSeek, is a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company that develops open weights large language m…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeepSeek
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is a subfield of artificial intelligence (AI) that uses generative models to generate text, images, videos, audio, software code or other forms of data. Thes…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generative_AI
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The history of artificial intelligence (AI) began in antiquity, with myths, stories, and rumors of artificial beings endowed with intelligence by master craftsmen. The field of research that eventuall…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_artificial_intellig…
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 2: “The study tracked 27,000 students aged 12 to 18 in China”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While the study is mentioned in other claims, the specific sample size of 27,000 students aged 12-18 in China is not explicitly confirmed in the provided evidence snippets.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is divided into 33 province-level divisions, including two special administrative regions. Beijing is the capital,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Chinese zodiac is a traditional classification scheme based on the Chinese calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year (or duodenary) cycle. …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_zodiac
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The YJ-12 (Chinese: 鹰击-12; pinyin: yīngjī-12; lit. 'Eagle Strike 12') is a Chinese supersonic anti-ship cruise missile manufactured by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YJ-12
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 3: “In another new study, students at Middlebury College in Vermont were taught an unfamiliar topic either with or without the help of an AI chatbot.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm a study at Middlebury College where students learned an unfamiliar topic with or without a chatbot.
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web search NEUTRAL — Mar 26, 2026 · How to Create Shortcuts to Open Control Panel Items in Windows 10 In Windows 10, there are a few different ways to find and change your settings: Settings app, Control Panel, app settin…
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/86339-list-commands-open…
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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 7, 2021 · UWP apps will only appear in the Volume Mixer once they start playing sound for the first time. See also: Fix sound problems in Windows 10 | Microsoft Support This tutorial will show you…
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/84119-adjust-volume-leve…
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web search NEUTRAL — Feb 17, 2020 · Hello, I've noticed a suspicious program labeled just "Program" in the Windows 10 Startup menu with no extension or description whatsoever. Does anyone know if it's safe to remove it, a…
https://www.tenforums.com/software-apps/150709-bogus-program…
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Claim 4: “Those using AI scored higher on tests than the control group and had the same advantages when they repeated the task a week later, according to research by Zara Contractor and German Reyes.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that research by Zara Contractor and German Reyes found AI users scored higher on tests and retained those advantages a week later.
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web search NEUTRAL — In another new study, Zara Contractor and Germán Reyes of Middlebury College had undergraduates learn about an unfamiliar topic, either with or without the help of a chatbot. Students using AI scored …
https://www.derstandard.at/story/3000000336393/does-ai-stop-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Those using AI scored higher on tests than the control group and had the same advantages when they repeated the task a week later, according to research by Zara Contractor and German Reyes.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/19/world-news/students-who-use-ai…
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web search NEUTRAL — We found that 61% of the students who use AI employ these tools for augmentation purposes, while 42% use them for automation tasks like writing essays or generating code. Even when students used AI to…
https://theconversation.com/at-one-elite-college-over-80-of-…
verified
Claim 5: “Some 80% reported using Chinese AI models such as Doubao and DeepSeek, while the remaining 20% formed the control group.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence confirms the existence of Doubao and DeepSeek as Chinese AI models, but does not provide the specific percentage breakdown (80% users vs 20% control) for the study mentioned.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — An AI agent, also known as agentic AI in buzzword form, is an artificial intelligence program that can pursue goals, use software or other tools, and take actions with some level of autonomy. Agentic …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AI_agent
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Doubao (Chinese: 豆包) is an artificial intelligence assistant developed by ByteDance.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doubao
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is a subfield of artificial intelligence (AI) that uses generative models to generate text, images, videos, audio, software code or other forms of data. Thes…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generative_AI
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 6: “After six months, the students using AI saw their homework scores rise by almost one-fifth (18%) across all subjects, a joint study by David Stromberg of Stockholm University of Victor Lei and Wu Yanhui of the University of Hong Kong found.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources confirm that students using AI saw homework scores rise by 18% over six months.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of American films released in 2014.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_films_of_2014
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of International Congresses of Mathematicians Plenary and Invited Speakers. Being invited to talk at an International Congress of Mathematicians has been called "the equivalent, in this…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_International_Congress…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Like many other academic professional societies, the American Statistical Association (ASA) uses the title of Fellow of the American Statistical Association as its highest honorary grade of membership…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fellows_of_the_America…
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 7: “In the West, AI pickup has been even more drastic, with roughly 80-90% of US undergrads, 94% in Britain, and 93% in Germany admitting to using it in their studies, according to a survey last year by ed-tech firm Chegg.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence does not contain the specific Chegg survey results regarding US, British, and German undergraduate AI usage percentages.
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web search NEUTRAL — The results of Elie Vandenbussche's detransition survey is out.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00918369.2021.1…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — A school in Texas is revolutionizing the way students learn by going all-in on artificial intelligence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJsnlSiyH3Y
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web search NEUTRAL — However, AI use is boosting the performance of individuals at work. Eighty percent of respondents report that AI has improved their individual productivity, and 50 percent report that AI helps them ma…
https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insig…
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Claim 8: “But when it came to exams, students who used AI for their homework scored 20% below their classmates who hadn’t, the study showed.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that students using AI for homework scored 20% lower on exams compared to their classmates.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Martina Eileen "Ai-Ai" Hernandez delas Alas (born November 11, 1964) is a Filipino actress and comedian. Referred to as the "Queen of Comedy" for her comedic talent, she is best known for her role as …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ai-Ai_delas_Alas
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — It has been hypothesized that substantial progress in artificial general intelligence (AGI) and artificial superintelligence (ASI) will lead to human extinction or an irreversible global catastrophe. …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existential_risk_from_artifici…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 OpenAI agent cyberattacks, also called the Hugging Face Incident and the OpenAI–Hugging Face Incident, were a series of unsanctioned coordinated cyberattacks conducted without human intervent…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenAI–HuggingFace_incident
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.