AI courses are being fully rolled out and new teaching materials are updated, here are the changes coming to primary and secondary schools this autumn.

AI courses, new textbooks, scientific inquiry, random class assignment...

When the new autumn semester starts this year, a batch of new contents and new requirements are entering primary and secondary school campuses. Some appear directly in students' class schedules and textbooks, some change the learning methods in classrooms, and others are implemented in campus management links such as enrollment and class division.

With a number of policies being implemented intensively in the new semester, primary and secondary schools have seen more specific changes in curriculum content, teaching methods and enrollment management. The new semester has started, and these changes are moving from policy requirements into real campus life.

AI general education courses are being rolled out at an accelerated pace, with clearer class hours and usage boundaries

In the new semester, AI general education is further integrated into primary and secondary school classrooms.

Jiangsu has taken the lead in putting "full-scale course launch" on the agenda. On August 18, Jiangsu launched the full coverage project of artificial intelligence general education courses for primary and secondary schools across the province, making it clear that the implementation of the courses is a "hard task" and requiring full-scale course launch at the start of the autumn semester. To this end, Jiangsu has completed a series of training programs to improve the teaching ability of artificial intelligence general education courses in primary and secondary schools during this summer vacation, basically achieving full coverage of full-time and part-time teachers and subject teaching researchers. At the same time, a special zone for digital resources has been launched, and on-site training delivery, cloud classrooms and technical specialist support are provided for rural schools.

After the courses are fully covered, the definition of "what to teach and how to teach" is also being further clarified. In August, Shandong issued the "Teaching Guidelines for Artificial Intelligence General Education in Primary and Secondary Schools of Shandong Province", setting progressive training goals for different school stages. Among them, the compulsory education stage requires no less than 6 class hours per academic year for Grades 1 and 2, and no less than 8 class hours for Grades 3 to 9. The usage boundary of AI is also delineated: teachers are not allowed to use AI to directly replace lesson preparation and teaching, and students are not allowed to use AI to directly write assignments or complete projects on their behalf.

Beijing, which has fully carried out AI general education for one year, has started to upgrade the course content. In the new semester, Zhongguancun No.3 Primary School integrates AI painting, video generation, computer vision and other content into courses of different grades. The E-Tech High School Affiliated to Beijing No.2 Middle School introduces robots, real-time motion capture and other equipment. Guangqumen Middle School also develops driverless-related courses relying on enterprise AI research platforms. Resources from universities, scientific research institutes and technology enterprises are entering campuses in the form of courses, laboratories and practical projects.

From Jiangsu promoting the launch of courses in every school, to Shandong clarifying class hours and usage boundaries, and then to Beijing upgrading courses and practical resources, the integration of AI into schools is moving towards more specific curriculum practice. After the availability of AI courses, how teachers teach, how students learn, and how new technologies and resources enter daily classrooms have begun to become more practical issues.

New textbooks achieve full coverage of all school stages, and compulsory education completes a new round of updates

This autumn, the new textbooks revised according to the 2022 edition of Compulsory Education Curriculum Standards will complete full coverage of all grades in primary and junior high schools.

This round of textbook updates was launched in the autumn of 2024. In that year, Grade 1 of primary school and Grade 7 of junior high school took the lead in using the new textbooks; the coverage expanded to more grades in 2025; by the autumn of 2026, all grades in primary and junior high schools will use the new textbooks, and the three-year textbook replacement is basically completed.

One of the most notable changes of the new textbooks is the adjustment of learning content and arrangement methods. According to experts, the total number of texts for Chinese subject in Grades 1 to 6 of primary school has been reduced; for mathematics subject, simple equations are adjusted to be learned in junior high school, and ruler and compass drawing is added in the primary school stage; the total vocabulary of English subject has not changed much. From the perspective of overall design, all subjects pay more attention to following the cognitive rules of students and the laws of education and teaching, so as to reduce the learning difficulty gradient.

At the same time, the content structure of some subjects has also been adjusted. For example, history textbooks further strengthen the timeline and the development context of civilization, adding content related to Yangshao Culture, Longshan Culture and Liangzhu Culture in ancient Chinese history, and adding content related to ancient African and American civilizations in world history; Chinese textbooks rearrange some units and texts to leave more space for in-depth learning.

With the new textbooks fully entering the classrooms, the compulsory education stage has officially entered the era of new textbooks. For schools and teachers, the new semester is not only a replacement of a set of textbooks, but also means that the teaching adjustment centered on the new curriculum standards has entered the full implementation stage.

At least one task per semester, science education puts more emphasis on "learning by doing"

While the new textbooks are fully put into use, science classes also have more specific practical requirements.

In August this year, the Ministry of Education issued the Guidelines for the "Learning by Doing" Pilot Action of Science Education in the Compulsory Education Stage, which will be implemented in primary and junior high schools from the autumn semester of 2026. Among them, each student in Grades 4 to 9 shall complete at least one scientific inquiry practice task per semester, with a total of no less than 4 class hours; students in Grades 1 to 3 shall complete the inquiry practice activities specified in the science curriculum, with no additional tasks added.

Different from the past experiments that were mostly demonstrated by teachers and observed by students, the Guidelines require students to fully participate in scientific inquiry. A task can include links such as raising questions and hypotheses, designing schemes, collecting evidence, hands-on practice, production and improvement, communication and reflection, and teachers provide corresponding guidance according to different grades and students' abilities.

The inquiry content is not limited to traditional scientific experiments. The Guidelines set six themes: life and health, ecological environment, mysteries of the earth, aerospace, emerging industries, and artificial intelligence, and all regions can independently design tasks combining local resources. Henan, on the basis of the six themes, adds characteristic themes in light of local reality, so that the inquiry tasks are further integrated with scenarios such as local industries, production and life.

After the number of tasks increases, the evaluation method is also adjusted accordingly. Scientific inquiry practice is mainly evaluated through process records, achievement displays and other methods, and is included in the students' comprehensive quality files in a documentary way, with no additional examinations organized. Schools can coordinate courses such as science, mathematics, information technology, labor, and comprehensive practical activities to carry out tasks, and the required class hours are arranged from the existing courses as a whole, without adding extra class hour burden to students.

From clarifying the number of tasks and class hours to stipulating the inquiry process and evaluation methods, "learning by doing" has more specific implementation standards this autumn. Science classes no longer only focus on how many conclusions students remember, students personally raising questions, verifying through hands-on practice and completing projects have also become part of the courses.

Adjustment of transition from kindergarten to primary school and from primary school to junior high school further slows down the starting rhythm

For students who have just entered primary school and junior high school this year, the starting method of the new semester also has clearer requirements.

On August 24, the Ministry of Education released "Ten Questions and Answers" focusing on the scientific transition between different school stages of primary and secondary schools and kindergartens, focusing on responding to the two key transition stages of kindergarten to primary school and primary school to junior high school. Kindergartens are not allowed to teach primary school courses such as Pinyin, literacy and calculation in advance, to avoid the "primary school-oriented" trend in education content, education methods and education environment.

After entering primary school, the first semester of Grade 1 is set as the enrollment adaptation period, adhering to "zero-start teaching". Among them, the Pinyin teaching period shall be guaranteed for at least 6 to 8 weeks, no written homework shall be assigned, and no paper-and-pencil examinations shall be carried out. Classroom teaching adopts more game-based and life-oriented methods to help students gradually adapt to the learning rhythm of primary school.

The transition from primary school to junior high school also emphasizes reducing the learning difficulty gradient at the starting stage. Junior high schools shall take the initiative to slow down the teaching progress in the first month of school, help students adapt to the changes in the number of courses, learning methods and campus life, and strengthen the psychological adjustment of new students at the same time.

While schools slow down the starting rhythm, families are also included in the transition requirements. The Ministry of Education clearly proposes that parents should avoid practices such as advanced tutoring and excessive exercise drills, and do not privately assign extra homework to their children. The transition between kindergartens, primary schools and junior high schools has also further shifted from the past situation that mostly relied on students' advance preparation to schools adjusting teaching arrangements and learning rhythms.

Random class assignment is further implemented, and regular senior high schools are also included in "Sunshine Enrollment"

In this year's school opening season, the class division methods for the starting grades of compulsory education in many places have been adjusted.

In April this year, the General Office of the Ministry of Education issued the Notice on Launching the Special Action of Sunshine Enrollment in Primary and Secondary Schools (2026), making it clear that compulsory education schools shall implement balanced class grouping, strictly prohibit the establishment or disguised establishment of key classes, experimental classes and fast-slow classes, promote random class assignment for students and balanced allocation of teachers. The school's class grouping plan, process and results shall be made public to parents, and the results shall not be changed arbitrarily after being publicized.

The new regulations have entered the implementation stage in many places. Hunan makes it clear that starting from the autumn semester of 2026, "Sunshine Class Assignment" will be implemented for Grade 1 of primary school and Grade 1 of junior high school in all compulsory education schools across the province; Guangzhou implements "double randomization" for new students in the starting grades of public and private compulsory education schools, with students assigned to classes randomly and teacher teams allocated randomly; Guiyang and Gui'an implement one-click random class assignment relying on information technology. Fuliang County in Jiangxi assigns classes randomly by computer, and records the whole process of class division with audio and video; Langxi County in Anhui carries out random seat allocation through an information system.

This year, the scope of "Sunshine Enrollment" has been extended to regular senior high schools for the first time. The Ministry of Education requires regular senior high schools to fully implement local enrollment and "simultaneous enrollment for public and private schools", and strictly prohibit the affiliated middle schools of universities directly under the Ministry of Education, provincial senior high schools, and urban senior high schools under the jurisdiction of prefecture-level cities from illegally recruiting top students from county areas. At the same time, the policy of reasonably distributing the enrollment indicators of high-quality regular senior high schools to weak junior high schools in the region will continue to be implemented, and cross-regional top-student recruitment under the name of indicator allocation to schools is strictly prohibited.

From random class assignment for the starting grades of compulsory education to the inclusion of regular senior high school enrollment in the special action, this autumn, the enrollment and class division links have clearer implementation requirements.

A number of new regulations are implemented simultaneously, ranging from teacher evaluation to after-school custody

In addition to classrooms and enrollment, there are also some new regulations in the new semester that directly involve teachers, parents and off-campus services.

Starting from September 1, Hunan implements the new evaluation method for primary and secondary school teachers' professional titles, further breaking the tendency of only focusing on academic qualifications, seniority, papers and awards, taking teachers' ethics and classroom teaching performance as important evaluation contents, and classroom teaching records, teaching cases and other materials can be used as representative achievements to participate in the review.

In terms of campus dining, Guangdong further implements the requirement of parent accompanying meals in school canteens for students. All types of schools and kindergartens at all levels that implement academic education across the province shall establish a centralized dining accompanying system, with at least 1 parent accompanying meal activity carried out every month, no less than 2 parents participating each time, and at least 1 parent accompanying meal work symposium held every semester.

Off-campus services also have new regulatory requirements. Shandong issued the Opinions on Strengthening the Supervision of Off-campus Custody Institutions, making it clear that off-campus custody institutions shall not disguisedly carry out off-campus education and training for primary and secondary school students in the name of custody services, nor publish relevant training advertisements, and put forward regulatory requirements for building, fire protection, gas, food safety and other aspects.

The changes this autumn fall exactly between the "increase" and "decrease" of education.

What is increased is new possibilities. AI enters class schedules, scientific inquiry goes out of textbooks, new textbooks add more real problems and practical content, and the ways students access knowledge and use tools are becoming more abundant.

What is reduced are some inertial practices that used to be taken for granted. The advance learning before entering primary school is no longer encouraged, the starting rhythm of the transition from primary school to junior high school is actively slowed down, the new textbooks reduce the learning difficulty gradient, and random class assignment further narrows the space for key classes and fast-slow classes.

While bringing new things into schools, we are also subtracting from premature, too fast and excessive competition. Compared with simply adding courses and knowledge, this may be the core of this round of changes: what should be increased is the possibility of learning; what should be reduced is the burden of growth.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Duojing" (ID: DJEDUINNO), author: Xie Qi, published with authorization from 36Kr.