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Personalizing learning while maintaining curriculum fidelity is a longstanding challenge in K–12 education. Could the thoughtful use of AI tools hold the solution, helping teams better connect curricula, assessment, and instruction in every classroom?

During the edLeader Panel, “Solving Education’s Coherence Problem: Connecting Curricula, Assessment, Instruction, and AI,” two instructional leaders explored what a connected instructional environment looks like—and how it can ease teacher workload while promoting more meaningful learning experiences and supporting whole‑school improvement. They introduced the concept of an Education Intelligence System, discussed the growing role of AI in simplifying daily decisions, and offered strategies for reducing fragmentation between assessment, curricula, and learning tools.

Why Schools Struggle with Coherence

Today, curricula, assessment, and instruction are not always aligned. District priorities may not inform classroom instruction, professional development may not be relevant to the content educators must teach, and the periodic assessments may not line up with the curriculum being taught.

And, students feel the impact. They experience something in core classes but have a different experience in intervention, enrichment, or multilingual support. This creates a significant cognitive load that burdens all, especially our most struggling students, Dr. Gene Kerns, Chief Academic Officer at Renaissance, explained.

Studies agree. A 2017 RAND study demonstrated only modest positive effects with personalized instruction. Dr. Kerns also pointed to a 2021 TNTP study that compared two approaches taken after Hurricane Katrina:

1. One approach maintained grade-level content as the goal and focused only on the skills needed to “accelerate learning” to meet that bar.
2. The other approach met students where they were and moved them forward through remediation.

The study found that students who experienced learning acceleration struggled less and learned more than those who started at the same level and experienced remediation.

Why “Data Driven” Isn’t the Entire Answer

If coherence is not addressed first, being data driven doesn’t help. When systems are not aligned, data can act like different compasses pointing in different directions. Teachers have to sift through large amounts of data and choose an instructional path. “But, what if, instead of multiple systems pointing in different ways, there was one unified system pointing in the same direction?” Dr. Kerns posited.

How AI Can Make Alignment Possible

When “the AI tool knows the systems, it can help in charting suggestions, making that accelerated learning positive side of personalized learning far easier to do,” said Dr. Kerns.

AI functions like an informed assistant. It draws from a body of information on which it is “pretrained” to generate responses. Many people associate AI with tools like ChatGPT, which rely on a dataset of outdated or incomplete website information—which is why it sometimes provides inaccurate responses or “hallucinations.”

“When first discussed, there was a lot of fear around AI,” said Janice Pavelonis, Superintendent at Carbondale Elementary School District 95 in Illinois. Her district uses Renaissance solutions that include embedded AI tools; however, there are many education technology providers that offer AI designed specifically for instructional use. She emphasized two key questions educators should ask when evaluating AI for aligning systems, improving learning, and safeguarding information:

1. What data was used to train the tool?
2. How is user-provided information—such as student progress data or personal information—stored and used?

“There are multiple tools out there that can be licensed and customized,” said Dr. Kerns. Using Renaissance’s system as an example, he pointed to meaningful educational resources that ensure responses remain relevant for educators, including:

• ATOS text complexity
• Star, FastBridge, or other similar assessments
• State learning standards and the most essential skills for progress at each grade level, based on those standards

Make Sure The System Is Closed

Pavelonis and Dr. Kerns emphasized looking for a “closed AI loop,” which means:

• No identifiable student data is used to inform AI, drawing on trends only.
• No information put in the system is shared with others.

When districts identify the tools that work for them and partner with vendors that understand how to handle student data safely, coherence in education becomes achievable.

Learn more about this edWeb broadcast, Solving Education’s Coherence Problem: Connecting Curricula, Assessment, Instruction, and AI, sponsored by Renaissance.

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As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success.

Article by Suzanne Bell, based on this edLeader Panel