China News Service, Beijing, November 1 (Reporter Xu Wenxin) Artificial intelligence is reshaping the face of various industries, and international education is facing the opportunities and challenges this brings. Recently, a number of reports focusing on international education in the era of artificial intelligence were released in Beijing and pointed out that AI is changing the tools, scenarios and evaluation methods of international education, but the true competitiveness of education still lies in how people use technology responsibly, make judgments and achieve creative transformation.
The "2025-2026 IELTS Student Performance Big Data Report in Mainland China" released by the British Council pointed out that the importance of authentic communication skills, credible evaluation standards and accurate feedback has become more prominent. The report shows that 83% of the candidates surveyed have used AI tools to varying degrees in IELTS preparation. Writing correction, estimated writing scores, and oral practice are the most common application scenarios. However, learners’ expectations for AI are changing. Whether the correction is accurate, whether there will be over-reliance, and whether the answers tend to be templated have become the issues that candidates are most concerned about. The more convenient AI becomes, the more learners need credible evaluation and accurate feedback to judge their true abilities and clarify their learning direction.
In terms of performance, the average overall score of IELTS academic candidates in mainland China included in the report statistics was 5.9, which remained stable overall. The average reading score was 6.2, and the average writing score increased from 5.7 to 5.8. However, the average writing and speaking scores are still lower than listening and reading, and there is still room for further improvement in output ability.
Based on observations of nearly 20,000 international art students, Spink proposed the "C.R.A.F.T Global Competency Model for Creative Talents" in the "White Paper on Global Competencies for Creative Talents" to provide standards for creative talents in the AI era.
The press conference of "White Paper on Global Competencies of Creative Talents". (Photo courtesy of the organizer)
The white paper states that "C.R.A.F.T" means craftsmanship and careful craftsmanship. The first is business awareness. Creative talents need to understand customer needs and business logic, and be able to transform ideas into realizable results. The second is the ability to translate cultural experience into business language. Take the overseas introduction of sweeping robots as an example. The European market alone requires multiple different versions. Italy likes to lay floor tiles, France likes to lay carpets, and Spain likes to lay cement floors. The advantage of returned creative talents is that they have a real sense of the collision of different cultures, but more importantly, they can translate this sense into business language, transform cultural integration into design, and ultimately convey cultural value through products. The third is the ability of aesthetic expression and self-marketing. Top designers also need to be able to resonate with clients and consumers through perceptible artistic expression. The fourth is the learning ability to master new technologies. AI technology is not a question of "whether to learn", but "how fast to learn". The most important thing for creative talents is not to master the latest technology, but to have the ability to master the latest technology. The fifth is creative judgment. In the AI era, various solutions are generated extremely quickly and there is no threshold. The most scarce thing is the unique selection ability formed after in-depth training.
"How can teachers "upgrade" in the smart era?" jointly released by Beijing Normal University Smart Learning Research Institute, China Education International Exchange Association and Pearson. ——The report "Digital Literacy Framework, Assessment and Cultivation from an International Perspective" points out that being able to use AI is no longer enough for educators. Educators need to determine when technology can support learning, assess student understanding, and manage risks associated with academic integrity and technology dependence. The report believes that artificial intelligence is changing the way teachers work, but professional judgment will always be at the core. As AI provides support in resource generation, feedback, and personalized learning, teachers are increasingly becoming learning designers, technology judges, and process evaluators. Accordingly, teacher digital literacy must include the ability to evaluate AI output, maintain academic integrity, and use technology responsibly to achieve instructional goals.
The report proposes that the education system needs to establish a framework that is locally adaptable and internationally comparable, linking teacher digital literacy assessment, training, and qualification certification; embedding digital literacy into pre-service training, qualifications, and professional development; and simultaneously promoting teacher development in a coordinated manner with curriculum reform, teaching innovation, school governance, and organizational support.
