Teachers concerned about the impact of AI on students’ critical thinking

Washington DC, June 5, 2026 – A majority of teachers show concern about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on students’ critical thinking skills, according to a new NPR/Ipsos poll conducted among current K-12 teachers. About three in four view AI as having bigger implications on K-12 education than past technological changes, and also that teaching responsible use of AI should be part of their school’s curriculum. Yet, only about a third say their school has formal guidelines for student use of AI.

The poll also finds that most teachers are using artificial intelligence, and those who are using it largely believe that it has made them more productive. However, AI is being used more for administrative purposes rather than actual lessons, and teachers are mixed on the overall impact of AI on education.

Detailed Findings

1. Most teachers believe AI is impacting students’ critical thinking skills.

• More than half view AI as mostly a shortcut for students to avoid doing more work (55%) and say it is making it harder for students to learn critical thinking skills (54%).
• In the same vein, nearly three in five agree that AI is eroding the level of trust between students and teachers (59%) and that is making it harder to assess students' level of knowledge (57%).
• About two in five teachers are requiring more assignments to be done either by hand or in class (39% each).

2. Teachers believe responsible AI use should be taught, yet more than half say their school has not offered guidance.

• Nearly four in five (78%) agree that teaching responsible use of AI should be part of their school’s curriculum.
• However, 52% of teachers say their school has not offered guidance on AI or that they are not sure what the guidance is.
• Similarly, just one in three say their school has a formal policy on student use of AI (33%) and fewer say the same of teacher use of AI (23%).

3. Teachers view AI as having bigger implications than past technological changes.

• Seventy-four percent view AI as having bigger implications on K-12 education than past technological changes, compared to just 10% that say it is no different.
• Overall, teachers are mixed on the impact of AI on education. Nearly half (49%) believe it has had a mix of positive and negative impact, while 40% say its impact has been negative and just 9% say it has been positive.
• Notably, those who teach high school (grades 9-12) are more likely than those who teach elementary school (grades K-5) to view AI’s impact on education as negative (47% vs. 32%).

4. When it comes to how teachers themselves use AI, a majority report using it for administrative or prep work.

• Three in five (62%) of teachers indicate using AI to help with their work or tasks.
• Fifty-four percent use AI at least one day a week for lesson planning or administrative work. On the other hand, just 23% say the same of using AI during actual lessons.
• Among teachers who use AI, 69% say it has made them more productive and efficient. Three in ten (29%) say it has had no impact, while just 2% say it has made them less productive and efficient.
• The top use cases of AI for teachers are creating classroom materials (69%) and writing or planning lessons (52%), followed by administrative tasks (42%) and communicating with parents or writing reports (41%). 

About the Study

These are the findings of an NPR/Ipsos poll conducted April 27 – May 5, 2026, by Ipsos using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a representative probability sample of 545 K-12 teachers who are adults aged 18 or older.

The study was conducted in English. The data were weighted to adjust for gender, age, race and ethnicity, census region, metropolitan status, education, and household income, The demographic benchmarks came from the 2024 American Community Survey (ACS).

• Gender (Male, Female)
• Age (18–29, 30–44, 45-59 and 60+)
• Race/Hispanic Ethnicity (White Non-Hispanic, Black Non-Hispanic, Other, Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, 2+ Races, Non-Hispanic)
• Education (Some College or Lower, Bachelors, Advanced Degrees)
• Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West)
• Metropolitan status (Metro, non-Metro)
• Household Income (Under $25,000, $25,000-$49,999, $50,000-$74,999, $75,000-$99,999, $100,000-$149,999, $150,000+)

The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 5.0 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of K-12 teachers. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.40. The margin of sampling error is higher and varies for results based on sub-samples. In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.

This topline is trended with data from previous NPR/Ipsos polls:

• The May 2023 poll was conducted May 8^th to May 12^th, 2023, using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®. The poll is based on a representative probability sample of 510 K-12 teachers who are adults aged 18 or older. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 5.0 percentage points for at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of K-12 teachers. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.34. More information about this poll can be found here.
• The March 2019 poll was conducted from March 21^st to March 25^th, 2019, and it included a non-probability opt-in sample of 505 teachers ages 18+. The credibility interval is plus or minus 5.0 percentage points for all respondents. More information about this poll can be found here.
• The April 2018 poll was conducted from April 6^th to April 12^th, 2018, and it included a non-probability opt-in sample of 504 teachers ages 18+. The credibility interval is plus or minus 5.0 percentage points for all respondents. More information about this poll can be found here.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Mallory Newall
Vice President, US
Public Affairs
[email protected]

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