AI use, ups homework scores, but slashes exam marks:study

 Yesterday evening I witnessed a spectacle. Our grand daughter was working out model question papers while preparing for exam today. Then we  saw her Amma admonishing her as  she was doing it with the help of data from the mobile phone/ internet. The mother was telling the daughter unless she used her brain she wasn't going anywhere.

Today (09.10.2026), I came across exactly it's reflection  in  The Times of India.

The title read, "AI use, ups homework scores, but slashes exam marks:study."

It is based on a report prepared by a World Bank team led by Gaurav Nayyar

"The World Development Report 2026: The Promise of Artificial Intellgence."

'LLM Users Show Lower Cognitive Effort"

LLM (Large Language Model) is a type of artificial intelligence, built on deep neural networks designed to process, understand and generate human like texts.

Manash Gohain articulates.

1. Evidence cited by World Bank suggests that unrestricted use of generative AI can improve what students submit as classwork.

2. But it weakens what they actually learn.

3. Tools such as ChatGPT  can reduce the mental effort through which reasoning, writing and knowledge are built.

4. A study revealed that with the use of AI, homework scores improved even as students spent less time on assignments. At the same time monthly in-class examination scores had fallen.

5. The evidence points to both opportunity and risk in education. If students outsource the learning process to AI, it would be problematic.

6. Those who used LLMs for research displayed lower cognitive effort. However mental effort had declined even when output quality improved.

7. Students given unrestricted AI access also performed worse later when the technology was withdrawn.

8. It is warned that if students use AI to complete homework, the "productive struggle" central to learning can disappear.

9.  It potentially weakens foundational skills in reasoning and writing.

10. It does not argue against AI in education.

11. The finding is, " AI can augment human capabilities. But it must not replace the processes through which more advanced skill are acquired.

12. As the demand for workers with AI skills grows, new occupations may emerge.