Most US teachers say AI is harming students’ critical thinking, poll finds
A June 2026 NPR/Ipsos poll of 545 US K-12 teachers found 54% say AI is making it harder for students to learn critical thinking skills.
Photo by Tara Winstead on Pexels
Most US K-12 teachers believe AI is weakening how students think, according to an NPR/Ipsos poll released on June 5, 2026. In the survey of 545 teachers, 54% said AI is making it harder for students to learn critical thinking skills, and 55% described AI as mostly a shortcut for students to avoid doing more work. The findings put the link between AI and critical thinking at the center of the classroom debate.
The poll was conducted by Ipsos using its KnowledgePanel, a probability-based online panel, with fieldwork from April 27 to May 5, 2026. The margin of error is plus or minus 5.0 percentage points. Teachers were asked how AI is changing learning, trust, and assessment, and how they use the tools themselves.
What the poll says about AI and critical thinking
Teachers reported concern across several measures at once. A majority linked AI to lower-quality learning, weaker assessment, and strained relationships in the classroom. The table below sets out the main concerns and the share of teachers who agreed with each.
| Statement about AI in the classroom | Teachers who agree |
|---|---|
| AI is mostly a shortcut for students to avoid doing more work | 55% |
| AI is eroding the level of trust between students and teachers | 59% |
| AI is making it harder to assess students’ level of knowledge | 57% |
| AI is making it harder for students to learn critical thinking skills | 54% |
Source: NPR/Ipsos poll of 545 US K-12 teachers, fieldwork April 27 to May 5, 2026.
Teachers also weighed AI against earlier waves of classroom technology. Seventy-four percent said AI carries bigger implications for K-12 education than past technological changes, while 10% said it is no different. When asked to rate the overall effect so far, teachers were more negative than positive.
The negative view was stronger among teachers of older students. Forty-seven percent of high-school teachers called AI’s impact negative, against 32% of elementary teachers. This split echoes wider worries that generative tools let students hand in work they did not think through, a concern raised in earlier coverage of how OECD warns AI can raise grades, hurt learning.
Teachers use AI, but say guidance is missing
The same teachers who flagged risks are also using the tools. Sixty-two percent said they use AI to help with their own work. Among those users, 69% said it made them more productive. Use is far more common for preparation than for live teaching.
Support has not kept pace with use. Fifty-two percent of teachers said their school has not offered AI guidance or they are unsure what it is. Only 33% reported a formal policy on student use of AI, and 23% a policy on teacher use. At the same time, 78% agreed that teaching responsible use of AI should be part of the school curriculum. “Nearly four in five (78%) agree that teaching responsible use of AI should be part of their school’s curriculum,” Ipsos stated.
The gap between adoption and guidance is not limited to this poll. A separate Gallup survey for the Walton Family Foundation, reported in May 2026, found roughly three in five teachers use AI and that most said they lacked guidance on how to use it, according to K-12 Dive. The pattern points to a training and policy gap that schools are still working to close, a theme explored in Policy for AI in Schools, A 10-Step 2025-2026 Implementation Guide.
How teachers are responding
Some teachers are changing how they set work. Thirty-nine percent said they now require more assignments to be completed by hand, and the same share require more work to be done in class, where use of AI can be watched. These moves aim to protect the parts of learning teachers worry AI can bypass. They also fit a wider push to keep human judgement central to teaching, a point developed in AI in education: Can AI Support – Not Replace – Teachers?.
The poll does not measure student learning directly. It records teacher perceptions, so the figures describe what educators observe and believe rather than tested outcomes. Ipsos notes that views have shifted over its earlier teacher polls in 2018, 2019, and 2023, as AI tools moved from novelty to daily use.
Background: the NPR/Ipsos education polls
Ipsos is a global market and opinion research firm, and its US Public Affairs team runs the KnowledgePanel, a probability-based panel recruited by address so that samples reflect the wider population. NPR and Ipsos have partnered on repeated surveys of US teachers, with earlier rounds in April 2018, March 2019, and May 2023, allowing comparison over time. The 2026 round surveyed 545 K-12 teachers between April 27 and May 5, 2026, with a margin of error of plus or minus 5.0 percentage points. Its central finding, that most teachers now see AI as harmful to critical thinking while also using the tools in their own work, captures the tension schools face as they write the AI rules that most teachers say are still missing.
Sources: Ipsos; NPR; K-12 Dive
Featured image: photo by Tara Winstead 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.
