El Salvador is expanding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in public schools. At the same time, New York City is taking a more cautious approach and restricting students from using generative AI through eighth grade.

The two decisions show how differently schools are responding to the growing use of AI in education.

In El Salvador, an education program using AI tutors began in 171 public schools. The schools recently took part in the country’s first PISA for Schools assessment, carried out by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in June 2026.

The assessment included 1,198 volunteer students. According to the results, students in the participating schools performed above El Salvador’s national average in reading, mathematics and science.

Their results were also similar to the average scores of students in Germany and Sweden in the 2022 PISA test.

“Results in reading, mathematics and science were above the national average and comparable to the average results in Germany and Sweden,” President Nayib Bukele said.

The program does not rely on AI alone. AI tutors are used alongside teachers, learning materials, regular testing and systems that track students’ progress.

The World Bank called the early results promising. But it also warned that the findings do not represent the whole education system in El Salvador. They only cover the schools and students that took part in the pilot.

The World Bank Group is an international organization that helps developing countries reduce poverty and improve living conditions by providing financial support and advice.

The organization said the results show the potential of education reform when technology is combined with effective teaching.

“What is at stake is more than a score,” the World Bank said. “It is a generation’s future and its prospects in the labor market.”

The program has already grown beyond the original pilot. It has expanded from 171 schools to more than 1,000 schools, according to the reports. The government plans to bring the program to every public school in the country within 18 months.

Bukele has described the education project as part of a wider transformation in El Salvador. “In a few years, El Salvador will inspire the world,” he said. “Security was just the beginning.”

The World Bank has supported the expansion, saying better education and stronger human capital will be important for giving young Salvadorans more opportunities.

A wider picture of education in the country will come from the new PISA 2025 results, which are due to be released on September 8. Those results will provide a broader measure because the PISA for Schools assessment was not designed to represent the entire country.

While El Salvador is expanding AI in schools, New York City is moving in the opposite direction.

New York City’s public school system, which serves about 900,000 students, is introducing a one-year moratorium on student-facing generative AI tools through eighth grade.

The policy applies to elementary and middle school students, generally up to the age of 13 or 14. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the decision is part of a wider review of how children use AI.

“Each day when our children come to school, we teach them to ask questions, to challenge assumptions, to interrogate the premise, to ask why,” Mamdani said. “When it comes to AI in our schools, we hold an obligation to do the same.”

The restrictions do not mean AI will disappear from New York schools. Teachers will still be allowed to use AI for tasks such as planning lessons and handling administrative work.

High school students will receive regular AI literacy classes, and some will be allowed to use selected AI tools under teacher supervision. AI companion chatbots will be banned across all grades.

Parents and teachers have raised concerns that students could become too dependent on AI. Some researchers have used the term “cognitive surrender” to describe situations where people allow software to do too much of their thinking for them.

New York is also planning limits on classroom screen time and a broader review of the technology used in its schools.