Most teachers say AI is harming students’ critical thinking, NPR/Ipsos poll finds
An NPR/Ipsos poll of 545 US K-12 teachers found 54% say AI in education makes it harder for students to learn critical thinking; only 33% have a formal policy.
Photo by Tara Winstead on Pexels
A majority of US teachers say AI in education is making it harder for students to learn critical thinking skills, according to an NPR/Ipsos poll released on 5 June 2026. Among 545 K-12 teachers surveyed, 54% said AI makes it harder for students to think critically, and 55% described it mainly as a shortcut for students to avoid work. Yet only 33% said their school has a formal policy on student AI use.
What the NPR/Ipsos poll measured
Ipsos conducted the poll for NPR between 27 April and 5 May 2026, using its probability-based KnowledgePanel. The sample was 545 K-12 teachers aged 18 or older, weighted to 2024 American Community Survey benchmarks for gender, age, race and ethnicity, region, metropolitan status, education, and household income. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 5.0 percentage points, accounting for a design effect of 1.40. The findings are trended against earlier NPR/Ipsos teacher polls from 2018, 2019, and 2023.
How AI in education affects trust and assessment
Beyond critical thinking, teachers reported concerns about classroom relationships and grading. Nearly three in five (59%) agreed that AI is eroding trust between students and teachers, and 57% said it makes assessing students’ knowledge harder. In response, 39% said they now require more assignments to be done by hand, and 39% require more work to be completed in class.
Teachers are mixed on the overall effect. Nearly half (49%) said AI has had a mix of positive and negative impact, 40% called the impact negative, and 9% called it positive. High school teachers (grades 9-12) were more likely than elementary teachers (grades K-5) to view the impact as negative, 47% versus 32%.
| NPR/Ipsos finding (K-12 teachers, 2026) | Share who agree |
|---|---|
| AI has bigger implications than past tech changes | 74% |
| Responsible AI use should be taught in school | 78% |
| AI is mainly a shortcut to avoid work | 55% |
| AI makes learning critical thinking harder | 54% |
| AI is eroding student-teacher trust | 59% |
| AI makes assessing knowledge harder | 57% |
| School has a formal policy on student AI use | 33% |
Source: NPR/Ipsos poll, 27 April – 5 May 2026, 545 K-12 teachers; margin of error ±5.0 points.
Teachers adopt AI faster than guidance
While most teachers flagged risks, a majority also reported using AI themselves. Three in five (62%) said they use AI to help with their work, and 54% use it at least one day a week for lesson planning or administrative tasks. Use during actual lessons was lower, at 23%. Among teachers who use AI, 69% said it had made them more productive, 29% reported no impact, and 2% said it made them less productive.
The most common teacher use cases were creating classroom materials (69%) and writing or planning lessons (52%), followed by administrative tasks (42%) and communicating with parents or writing reports (41%). The poll points to a gap between adoption and oversight: 78% said responsible AI use should be part of the curriculum, but 52% said their school has not offered guidance or that they are unsure what the guidance is, and just 23% reported a formal policy on teacher AI use.
The pattern echoes other 2026 surveys. Research from Jobs for the Future on rapid AI adoption and persistent guidance gaps found that learners still get more AI guidance from social media than from their schools. Winss Solutions has covered the policy response through its guide to policy for AI in schools, a 10-step 2025-2026 implementation guide and its 15 best practices when using AI in the classroom.
Background
NPR and Ipsos have polled US teachers periodically since at least 2018, with comparable samples of roughly 500 K-12 teachers and a margin of error near 5 points. Earlier rounds focused on classroom funding, climate education, and trust in teachers; the 2023 and 2026 rounds added questions on artificial intelligence as generative tools spread through schools. The 2026 poll is the first in the series in which a majority of teachers report using AI in their own work while also reporting concern about its effect on student learning. The result frames a question now facing US districts: how to set guidance and assessment practices that keep pace with classroom adoption, a tension Winss Solutions has tracked in its reporting on how powerful AI is influencing how teachers teach and students learn. The poll reflects teachers’ reported perceptions rather than measured changes in student ability.
Featured image: photo by Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels (free Pexels license).
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I specialize in sustainability education, curriculum co-creation, and early-stage project strategy. At WINSS, I craft articles on sustainability, transformative AI, and related topics. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me chasing the perfect sushi roll, exploring cities around the globe, or unwinding with my dog Puffy — the world’s most loyal sidekick.
