Expert-verified AI study materials reduced low-end attainment in a university economics course (arXiv:2610.07097v1)
A new preprint (arXiv:2610.07097v1) reports a two-cohort difference-in-differences experiment in which half of a compulsory first-year economics course (170 students; 340 exam marks) received source-grounded AI-generated podcasts, FAQs and quiz-based study guides that were checked by a named graduate teaching assistant. Access was associated with a 2.34-point advantage on a 50-point exam component, a 24.7 percentage-point reduction in the share of marks below the upper‑second boundary, effects significant between 23–31 marks but not above, with roughly three-quarters of the average effect arising from the bottom quintile; 36 student interviews indicated the verification label encouraged engagement without ending students’ scrutiny.