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.
2. Teachers believe responsible AI use should be taught, yet more than half say their school has not offered guidance.
3. Teachers view AI as having bigger implications than past technological changes.
4. When it comes to how teachers themselves use AI, a majority report using it for administrative or prep work.
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).
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:
For more information on this news release, please contact:
Mallory Newall
Vice President, US
Public Affairs
[email protected]
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