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IZA Discussion Paper No. 18989
October 2026
The Effects of Course-Integrated AI Tutoring on Student Performance and Engagement: A Randomized University Trial
Jing Liu, Tracy Sweet, Marty Haoyuan Chen, Jonathan Engelberg, Megan C. Masters, Martyn Clark, Axel Persaud, Alia Lancaster, Jeffrey K. Hollingsworth, Jennifer King Rice

We evaluate access to a course-integrated generative AI (GenAI) tutor in a randomized controlled trial involving 2,379 undergraduate students and 30 instructors across multiple disciplines in a large U.S. public university. Among sections of the same course, tutor access reduced final grades by 0.37 standard deviations and learning management system participation by 0.90 standard deviations. Participation declines were similarly large in the full sample, and estimated academic losses were greater among first-generation students. These findings suggest that introducing an AI tutor may displace engagement with existing learning activities without improving academic performance, with potentially differential impact across student groups.

Communications
Mark Fallak
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World of Labour
Olga Nottmeyer
olga.nottmeyer-ext@liser.lu
+352 585-855-501
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Christina Gathmann
christina.gathmann@liser.lu

The IZA@LISER Network is a global community of scholars dedicated to excellence in labor economics and related fields, now coordinated at the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) following its transition from Bonn.

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