NEPC Review: Measuring Artificial Intelligence in Education (Bellwether, October 2025)

Because AI-powered technologies are rapidly proliferating in education, educators face urgent challenges in evaluating their impacts. Bellwether’s recent report seeks to address this by promoting logic models as a way to move beyond superficial metrics toward evidence-based outcomes. Yet it does not fully acknowledge the limitations of this approach and assumes AI should be integrated into education, using logic models to affirm AI’s taken-for-granted potential. By treating logic models as value-neutral, the report overlooks contextual complexity and possible harms. Rather than offering critical guidance on AI’s role in education, it provides methodological cover for predetermined conclusions about AI’s inevitability and desirability. Policymakers seeking rigorous, evidence-based approaches will find little support in what is ultimately a promotional document.