Evidence you can act on, from the four WAC centres
Each paper reviews the best published research on one question, weighs the evidence on both sides, and ends with a framework and recommendations for universities, educators, edtech leaders and policymakers. Every claim carries a numbered source.
AI in Learning Report 2026
AI is improving the work students hand in faster than what they learn; design, not access, decides the outcome
Beyond the Transcript: When Can a Portfolio Be Trusted?
What employers use, what raters can agree on, and when records of real work deserve weight
48%US employers rating ePortfolios very useful (2020)
Buying AI for Education: A Standard for Evidence, Privacy and Cost
Five gates for universities, school systems and ministries to apply before they sign or renew an AI deal
20high-quality causal studies in 800+ papers on AI in schools
The Return of the Oral Exam: Live Assessment at Scale
What vivas, oral defenses and AI examiners can certify, what they cost and how to run them fairly
65%of UK undergraduates say AI significantly changed assessment
The New Map of International Education After the Big Four Tightened
Where students, degrees and campuses moved from 2023 to 2026, and how an institution can choose its route
~38%Est. fall in new big-four study visas, 2023 to 2025
The Proof-of-Skill Gap: Why Skills-First Hiring Stalled
What employers trust, which credentials pay, and how to make a skill claim count as AI reshapes junior work
1 in 700Upper bound on US hires changed by dropping degree rules
What Can a Grade Still Prove? Rebuilding Trust in Assessment After AI
How AI, grade compression and the return of testing are pushing universities to redesign assessment
60.2%of Harvard College grades were A's in 2025 (24% in 2005)
AI That Teaches: When Generative AI Builds Learning That Lasts
What randomized trials show about tutors, shortcuts and defaults, and a five-rung ladder for campus-wide AI
17%Lower closed-book exam scores after plain GPT-4 practice
How these papers are written
They are desk research: a synthesis of peer-reviewed studies, working papers, official statistics and quality reporting. WAC ran no survey or trial for them, and they say so. Each reference was opened and checked against the claim it supports before publication, the strongest counter-evidence is included, and figures we calculated ourselves are marked.
- Sources listed in full, with links
- Charts drawn from the cited data
- An original framework in each paper
- Recommendations for four audiences
Work with the WAC centres
Universities, educators and education companies can register their interest in joining the World Assessment Council network.