Since ChatGPT launched in late 2022, teachers and educators have reported a significant decline in student writing quality. Students who rely on AI to draft their essays are not developing the critical thinking, argument construction and communication skills that writing is designed to teach. Universities are seeing more polished but less original work. On the other hand, some educators argue that AI is simply the latest tool — like calculators or spell-check — and that schools need to evolve how they assess writing rather than resist the technology. Is AI genuinely making students worse at writing?
