Source: The Wall Street Journal (paywall)
Alpha School and similar AI-powered tutoring services are carving out a premium niche by offering hyper-personalized curricula that traditional schools—constrained by standardized testing and mixed-ability classrooms—cannot match. Families with $50K+ annually can now buy algorithmic optimization of their children's learning paths, widening the gap between well-resourced and under-resourced students. The shift isn't AI's pedagogical merit but its role in packaging educational inequality as a consumer product wrapped in efficiency language.