A practical self-assessment for school leaders navigating AI adoption.
Most schools aren’t behind on AI. They just don’t know where they stand.
When school leaders ask me where to start with AI, the answer is almost never “buy a tool.” It’s “find out what you’ve already got, what’s missing, and what to do first.” That’s what this framework does.
I built the AI Readiness Framework after years of working with international schools across Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. The pattern was consistent: school leaders felt overwhelmed not because AI was too complex, but because they had no structured way to think about it. No map. No diagnostic. Just a growing sense that they should be doing something, without clarity on what.
The existing frameworks didn’t help. The CoSN Gen AI Maturity Tool is designed for US public school districts. The TeachAI Toolkit provides policy principles but no way to assess where your school actually stands. The EU’s SELFIE tool is excellent for school-level digital self-assessment, but it pre-dates generative AI and assumes a European context. The aiEDU AI Readiness Framework focuses on student and teacher competencies rather than institutional readiness.
None of these were built for autonomous schools making their own decisions about AI.
Five dimensions, not one number
A single “AI readiness score” is almost useless. What matters is the profile. Where are you strong? Where are the gaps? That tells you what to do first.
The framework assesses readiness across five interconnected dimensions:
1. Leadership & Governance
Does someone own AI strategy at your school? Is there a designated person or team? Are AI decisions made through a clear process, or do individual teachers figure it out alone?
This is where most schools should start. Three moves that cost nothing: designate an AI lead (even part-time), add AI as a standing item in leadership meetings, and create a one-page decision process for when someone proposes a new AI tool.
2. Policy & Ethics
Do you have a published AI acceptable use policy for staff? Academic integrity guidelines for students? Is student data protection addressed when teachers use AI tools?
Most schools I talk to have informal norms but nothing written. That’s a risk, not because something will go wrong tomorrow, but because when it does, you want to point to a framework you built deliberately.
3. Infrastructure & Resources
This is where context matters most. The framework doesn’t assume 1:1 devices and gigabit internet. It asks: does your connectivity reliably support AI tools? Do staff and students have adequate device access? Is there a budget, even a small one, for AI tools and training?
A school with constrained infrastructure isn’t unready. It has a context that shapes which AI strategies make sense.
4. Staff Capacity
Have your teachers received formal AI training? Do they feel confident using AI for planning and feedback? Can they critically evaluate AI outputs?
This is often the lowest-scoring dimension, and it’s the one with the highest-leverage quick wins. According to a 2025 Gallup and Walton Family Foundation survey, 68% of US teachers received no training on how to use AI tools. The gap is likely wider in many international school contexts.
5. Curriculum & Pedagogy
Is AI addressed anywhere in your curriculum? Are students learning with AI, about AI, and to evaluate AI? Have your assessments been redesigned for the AI era?
This is where the long-term work lives. Even small moves, like piloting AI in one subject or redesigning one assessment, can shift the score.
Four readiness levels
The framework produces a scored output: a percentage per dimension, an overall readiness level, and a visual profile.
| Score | Level | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 0-40% | Foundation Building | Focus on governance and policy first. The basics aren’t in place yet, but that’s fixable. |
| 41-60% | Early Adoption | Build staff capacity while strengthening infrastructure. You’ve started, but it’s uneven. |
| 61-80% | Active Implementation | Scale what’s working and address remaining gaps. Your foundations are solid. |
| 81-100% | Transformation | Lead innovation and share your learning with others. You’re setting the pace. |
The numbers aren’t precise. This is a 20-question self-assessment, not an audit. But a score creates a conversation. When a school leader sees that their Leadership & Governance dimension scores 75% but their Staff Capacity scores 35%, the path forward becomes obvious. That clarity, knowing what to do first, is what turns anxiety into agency.
Why this framework exists
Fewer than 10% of schools globally have formal guidance on AI, according to UNESCO. But according to the Digital Education Council’s 2024 Global AI Student Survey, 86% of students are already using AI in their studies.
That gap won’t close by itself. Schools need a structured way to assess where they are, decide what to do first, and track their progress. That’s what this framework provides.
Quick wins by dimension
Each dimension has practical, low-cost starting points:
Leadership & Governance
- Designate an AI lead (even part-time)
- Add AI to standing leadership meeting agendas
- Create a simple AI decision-making flowchart
Policy & Ethics
- Adapt an existing AI acceptable use template for your school
- Run a staff session on academic integrity and AI
- Audit which AI tools are currently in use and what data they access
Infrastructure & Resources
- Test your bandwidth with AI tools during peak hours
- Survey current device availability across staff and students
- Create an inventory of AI tools already in use
Staff Capacity
- Start a voluntary AI exploration group for interested staff
- Share one AI tool demo per staff meeting
- Partner with another school that is further along
Curriculum & Pedagogy
- Pilot AI integration in one subject area this term
- Redesign one assessment to be AI-appropriate
- Run a student AI literacy workshop
Take the assessment
The AI Readiness Framework is available as an interactive self-assessment. It takes about five minutes. You’ll get a scored profile across all five dimensions, your readiness level, and targeted quick wins for your lowest-scoring area.
Take the AI Readiness Assessment …
You can also download the full framework document as a PDF:
About the framework
The AI Readiness Framework for Schools was developed through work with international school leaders across Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. It draws on existing frameworks from UNESCO, the EU, and other organisations, adapted specifically for the school level. It was refined through workshops and conference sessions including Cambridge International Schools Day in Ghana.
It is designed for autonomous schools, whether international schools, independent schools, or school groups, that make their own decisions about AI adoption and need a practical tool to guide those decisions.
Niall McNulty is AI Product Lead at Cambridge University Press & Assessment. He works on AI-powered solutions for teaching and assessment across international education projects.
Get in touch: LinkedIn