A local news outlet recently prompted the groundbreaking artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT to assess the state of Dallas and identify serious issues that need to be addressed in the city.
While a newer version of ChatGPT allows for more current information to be considered, the version used by the Dallas Observer could only take into account information published online before September 2021. The news outlet asked the chatbot, “What are five of Dallas’ biggest problems?”
The chatbot identified education as the second-biggest issue facing the city.
“The quality of education in some Dallas schools, particularly in low-income neighborhoods, was a concern. Efforts were being made to improve educational outcomes and reduce achievement gaps,” responded ChatGPT.
While there are technically a number of school districts that operate within Dallas city limits, Dallas ISD is far and away the largest. It is responsible for educating more than 140,000 students. It has also been underperforming against statewide student achievement metrics for years, which respondents to a poll back in September 2022 attributed to mismanagement, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Despite the hard work of the district’s talented and dedicated teachers and principals, Texas Education Agency (TEA) data for the school year after the chatbot’s temporal limit suggests Dallas ISD remained an underperforming school system.
According to the district’s TEA accountability report, only 41% of students scored at grade level on their STAAR exams during the 2021-2022 school year. Additionally, only 81% of Dallas ISD’s graduating Class of 2022 earned a diploma in four years.
More recent STAAR scores indicate there has been some improvement in most test subjects and grade levels. Still, no grade level had at least 50% of its students score at grade level in math, and in reading-language arts, the eighth grade had the biggest share, with 56% scoring at grade level.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Dallas ISD adopted a $2.5 billion budget for the 2023-2024 school year, even though enrollment has dipped in recent years.
While ChatGPT identified education as one of the city’s most pressing issues, crime and public safety still came in at No.1. Transportation and traffic congestion came in at No.3, followed by economic disparities at No.4, and housing affordability at No.5, according to the Dallas Observer.
