Will high school cte teachers be replaced by AI?
Updated
High school CTE teachers score 35 of 100 for AI exposure. 44% of their task time still needs a person. AI can do 15% today and speed up another 41%.
- 15% AI can do it
- 41% AI helps
- 44% Needs a person
Moderate exposure
Lower than 54% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 33 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 5 of them today, speeds up 13 and leaves 15 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by law, district policy, and administrative regulations. Records are digital data entry AI handles well, with checks. | 70% AI can do it |
| Prepare reports on students and activities as required by administration. AI can turn records into report drafts; teacher verifies accuracy. | 70% AI can do it |
| Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools. AI drafts course outlines from standards; teacher reviews and adapts. | 65% AI can do it |
| Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate those objectives to students. AI can draft clear objectives; teacher reviews and communicates them. | 62% AI can do it |
| Assign and grade class work and homework. AI grades routine work from rubrics; teacher spot checks. | 60% AI can do it |
| Prepare, administer, and grade tests and assignments to evaluate students' progress. AI drafts tests and grades objective items; proctoring stays human. | 55% AI helps |
| Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations. AI speeds slide and media creation; teacher runs the equipment. | 45% AI helps |
| Keep informed about trends in education and subject matter specialties. AI summarizes education news and research quickly for teachers. | 45% AI helps |
| Prepare and implement remedial programs for students requiring extra help. AI can build remedial materials; delivering tutoring stays human. | 40% AI helps |
| Select, order, store, issue, and inventory classroom equipment, materials, and supplies. AI can track inventory and orders; physical storage stays manual. | 40% AI helps |
Show the other 23 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Instruct students individually and in groups, using various teaching methods, such as lectures, discussions, and demonstrations. Live delivery to students; AI helps with prep only. | 35% AI helps |
| Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate. AI drafts lesson plan structures; live activities stay human. | 35% AI helps |
| Collaborate with other teachers and administrators in the development, evaluation, and revision of secondary school programs. AI helps draft program revisions; collaboration needs human consensus. | 35% AI helps |
| Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula. AI can draft schedules and lesson sequences; staff agree together. | 35% AI helps |
| Instruct students in the knowledge and skills required in a specific occupation or occupational field, using a systematic plan of lectures, discussions, audio-visual presentations, and laboratory, shop, and field studies. Hands on skills need humans; lecture content is AI drafted. | 30% AI helps |
| Prepare materials and classroom for class activities. Material prep AI assisted; room setup needs physical presence. | 25% AI helps |
| Plan and supervise class projects, field trips, visits by guest speakers or other experiential activities, and guide students in learning from those activities. AI handles logistics and permission drafts; supervision stays on site. | 25% AI helps |
| Place students in jobs, or make referrals to job placement services. AI drafts referral paperwork; placement relies on personal contacts. | 25% AI helps |
| Plan and supervise work-experience programs in businesses, industrial shops, and school laboratories. On site employer supervision and relationships need human presence. | 18% Needs a person |
| Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health. Observation is in person; AI only aids rubric scoring. | 15% Needs a person |
| Guide and counsel students with adjustments, academic problems, or special academic interests. Counseling needs live empathy and judgment; AI drafts resources only. | 15% Needs a person |
| Prepare students for later grades by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks. Encouraging perseverance is personal mentoring; AI helps little. | 15% Needs a person |
| Confer with parents or guardians, other teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems. Parent and staff conferences need live judgment; AI drafts notes. | 15% Needs a person |
| Meet with other professionals to discuss individual students' needs and progress. Team meetings are live discussions; AI can summarize notes. | 15% Needs a person |
| Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms. Physical assistance is human; AI assistive tech helps somewhat. | 12% Needs a person |
| Meet with parents and guardians to discuss their children's progress and to determine priorities for their children and their resource needs. Parent meetings on resources need live relationship building. | 12% Needs a person |
| Sponsor extracurricular activities, such as clubs, student organizations, and academic contests. Club sponsorship is in person and relationship driven. | 12% Needs a person |
| Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students. Live classroom discipline needs human presence and authority. | 10% Needs a person |
| Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, and teacher training workshops to maintain and improve professional competence. Attendance is in person; AI can summarize session materials. | 10% Needs a person |
| Attend staff meetings and serve on committees, as required. Meetings and committee service are live, in person duties. | 10% Needs a person |
| Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials to prevent injury and damage. Monitoring equipment use in shops needs physical presence. | 8% Needs a person |
| Enforce all administration policies and rules governing students. Enforcing rules is a live authority role for staff. | 8% Needs a person |
| Perform administrative duties, such as school library assistance, hall and cafeteria monitoring, and bus loading and unloading. Hall, cafeteria, and bus duties are physical supervision. | 3% Needs a person |
How high school CTE teachers compare
All occupations (923)
Educational instruction and library (62)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $66,270 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 111,420 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- -0.4% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Demonstrate equipment use and safety in live shop sessions
- Review AI-drafted student reports in Microsoft Word before sending
- Build and adapt grading rubrics in the learning management system
- Teach AutoCAD Civil 3D drafting with student drawing reviews
- Hold your state career and technical education teaching license
- Build program data summaries in Microsoft Excel for administration
Safer roles nearby
A related occupation with a lower score.
Questions about high school CTE teachers and AI
Will AI replace high school cte teachers?
Partly. About 3 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly keeping student records and preparing reports for administration. Teaching in the shop, managing live classroom behavior, and supervising equipment use stay with teachers because they need a person in the room.
Which tasks is AI taking over for high school CTE teachers?
Record keeping and report writing carry the highest exposure scores at 70. Digital data entry suits AI when checks follow, and AI can turn records into report drafts that the teacher verifies. Course outlines at 65 and grading routine class work at 60 follow, with AI drafting from standards and rubrics.
Which tasks stay with high school CTE teachers?
Enforcing rules and managing classroom behavior score 8 to 10 on exposure, among the lowest on the list. Hall, cafeteria, and bus duty score 3 because they are physical supervision. Equipment monitoring in shops scores 8 and needs a teacher standing beside students at the machines.
How can high school CTE teachers stay valuable?
Spend the hours AI frees on live work that needs a person present. Review every AI-drafted report and grade before it leaves your desk. Build rubrics in the learning management system that fit your trade standards, and run hands-on demonstrations and AutoCAD Civil 3D drafting reviews at student workstations.
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Next steps for high school CTE teachers
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