(7 Apr 2025) Cengage Group has released new data from its ongoing “AI in Education” research series, highlighting increased optimism and adoption of generative AI (GenAI) across both higher education (HED) and K12 settings in the United States. The findings reflect responses from over 3,000 HED students and instructors and more than 1,000 K12 teachers and administrators.
The report reveals that positive sentiment toward GenAI rose by 5% year-over-year in both segments, with 45% of HED instructors and 55% of K12 teachers expressing favorable perceptions. However, adoption rates varied significantly: 63% of K12 teachers reported the integration of GenAI into classroom activities, compared to 49% of HED instructors—a 28 percentage point gap.
The data indicates that GenAI is being actively explored to support both instructional and administrative functions. In higher education, instructors reported increased use of GenAI for creating student-facing materials (45%, up 11%), planning lessons (42%, up 18%), and generating quizzes or assessments (39%, up 16%). GenAI is also being employed to support lectures (42%, up 12%) and administrative tasks (36%, up 3%). Students, in turn, are using the technology to summarize complex concepts (67%), brainstorm ideas for writing assignments (61%), and develop study aids (55%).
Respondents in higher education identified several desired use cases for future development. These include tools to support language learners (63%), monitor academic integrity (57%), streamline administrative duties (55%), and personalize instruction (52%). The vast majority of HED instructors (92%) and students (83%) indicated that AI literacy should be integrated into coursework, with 84% of students viewing AI proficiency as important for future employment. Nevertheless, 65% of students believe they possess more AI knowledge than many of their instructors, and 45% would like their courses to include more AI-related content.
In K12 education, GenAI adoption increased notably year-over-year, with 40% of teachers indicating they had recently begun using GenAI—up from 16% in the previous cycle. Despite this growth, concern over GenAI risks also rose: 88% of administrators and 87% of teachers now consider GenAI a moderate to severe risk. Concerns over academic integrity (83%) and lack of support (34%) declined slightly, while worries about data privacy grew by 4% year-over-year, reaching 32%.
In terms of functionality, demand in K12 settings is growing for GenAI applications that support teaching (53%, up 15%), classroom activities (40%, up 13%), and tutoring (23%, up 9%). Teachers showed interest in tools that could generate specific content types, including assessments (34%), digital animations (30%), narrative materials (30%), and textbook visuals (29%). Future adoption could be further encouraged by features that support personalized learning (27%), reduce administrative workload (20%), and aid language learners (17%).
Nearly all K12 respondents believe GenAI will continue to play an increasingly important role in education. Among administrators, 96% expect GenAI to gain significance, along with 87% of teachers. Key anticipated benefits include enhanced student engagement (teachers: 66%; administrators: 81%) and improved integration of traditional and online learning environments (teachers: 62%; administrators: 73%).
Cengage Group stated that while adoption trends are encouraging, ongoing concerns—particularly around data privacy and instructional alignment—will remain a central focus as it develops new educational technologies. The company emphasized that any future GenAI tools introduced to the K12 or HED markets must meet both safety expectations and high pedagogical standards.
Click here to read the original press release.
