Will AI replace english teachers?
Updated
High school teachers score 41 of 100 for AI exposure. 50% of their task time still needs a person. AI can do 10% today and speed up another 40%.
- 10% AI can do it
- 40% AI helps
- 50% Needs a person
Moderate exposure
Higher than 55% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 32 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 3 of them today, speeds up 13 and leaves 16 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations. Record keeping is structured data entry AI handles well. | 75% AI can do it |
| Prepare reports on students and activities as required by administration. AI can draft student and activity reports from records. | 72% AI can do it |
| Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools. AI can draft course outlines from curriculum standards. | 66% AI can do it |
| Assign and grade class work and homework. AI can draft assignments and grade and comment on work. | 60% AI helps |
| Prepare, administer, and grade tests and assignments to evaluate students' progress. AI drafts tests and grades objective items; teacher reviews. | 58% AI helps |
| Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate those objectives to students. AI can draft clear objectives; teacher sets and shares them. | 55% AI helps |
| Prepare for assigned classes, and show written evidence of preparation upon request of immediate supervisors. AI can draft lesson plans; teacher prepares and presents. | 55% AI helps |
| Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs and interests. AI can rapidly adapt materials for varied learner needs. | 50% AI helps |
| Prepare and implement remedial programs for students requiring extra help. AI can plan remedial content; delivery needs a teacher. | 40% AI helps |
| Collaborate with other teachers and administrators in the development, evaluation, and revision of secondary school programs. AI can draft program revisions; committee decisions stay human. | 40% AI helps |
Show the other 22 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Administer standardized ability and achievement tests, and interpret results to determine students' strengths and needs. AI can help interpret test results; administration stays human. | 40% AI helps |
| Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations. AI can build slides and materials; equipment use is manual. | 38% 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 can suggest activity plans; delivery stays hands-on. | 30% AI helps |
| Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula. AI can draft lesson schedules; staff discussion stays human. | 30% AI helps |
| Select, store, order, issue, and inventory classroom equipment, materials, and supplies. AI can track inventory and orders; handling supplies is manual. | 30% AI helps |
| Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health. Observation is mostly in-person; AI only summarizes notes. | 18% AI helps |
| Instruct through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations in one or more subjects, such as English, mathematics, or social studies. Live lecturing and demonstrating is done in person. | 15% Needs a person |
| Meet with other professionals to discuss individual students' needs and progress. Professional case meetings are live; AI only takes notes. | 15% Needs a person |
| Plan and supervise class projects, field trips, visits by guest speakers, or other experiential activities, and guide students in learning from those activities. Supervising field trips and visitors is physical and live. | 15% Needs a person |
| Prepare students for later grades by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks. Encouraging students relies on live, personal interaction. | 12% Needs a person |
| Guide and counsel students with adjustments, academic problems, or special academic interests. Counseling students needs trust, empathy and live judgement. | 12% Needs a person |
| Confer with parents or guardians, other teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems. Resolving problems through conferences needs live human judgement. | 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 require live, personal discussion. | 12% Needs a person |
| Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities such as restrooms. Physical assistance and facility access need hands-on help. | 10% Needs a person |
| Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, and teacher training workshops to maintain and improve professional competence. Attending conferences and workshops is in-person participation. | 10% Needs a person |
| Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities. Physically setting up rooms and materials. | 8% Needs a person |
| Enforce all administration policies and rules governing students. Enforcing rules on students requires in-person authority. | 8% Needs a person |
| Attend staff meetings and serve on committees, as required. Staff meetings and committee service need human presence. | 8% Needs a person |
| Sponsor extracurricular activities, such as clubs, student organizations, and academic contests. Sponsoring clubs and contests is hands-on, in-person work. | 8% Needs a person |
| Instruct and monitor students in the use of equipment and materials to prevent injuries and damage. Monitoring equipment use to prevent injury is physical. | 6% Needs a person |
| Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students. Enforcing behavior rules in person needs presence and authority. | 5% Needs a person |
| Perform administrative duties, such as school library assistance, hall and cafeteria monitoring, and bus loading and unloading. Hall, cafeteria and bus duty are physical supervision tasks. | 5% Needs a person |
How high school teachers compare
All occupations (923)
Educational instruction and library (62)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $72,040 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 1.1 million in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- -0.2% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Write lesson objectives and rubrics for each unit
- Review AI-drafted tests before grades post in Blackboard
- Supervise lab equipment use to prevent student injuries
- Manage gradebooks and parent updates in Google Classroom or Moodle
- Hold a state teaching license for the subject taught
- Lead seminars and hands-on lab demonstrations with students
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about high school teachers and AI
Will english teachers be replaced by AI?
Partly. About 3 in 10 working hours of a high school teacher's time go to tasks AI can already do, mostly record keeping and report writing. Lessons, supervision and classroom presence stay with people because they need a teacher in the room.
Which high school teaching tasks is AI taking over?
Record keeping has the highest exposure score at 75, because student records are structured data entry that AI handles well. Student reports, scored at 72, and course outlines drafted from curriculum standards, scored at 66, follow close behind. Teachers still review the output before it goes into a file.
Which high school teaching tasks stay human?
Enforcing behavior rules, hall and cafeteria duty, and monitoring lab equipment all score 5 to 6 on exposure, the lowest on the list. These tasks need a teacher physically present with students, so AI has little to take over. Staff meetings and committee service, at 8, also stay with people.
How can high school teachers stay valuable?
Use AI to draft outlines and quizzes, then spend the saved time on classroom work. Write your lesson objectives and review every AI-graded test in Google Classroom or Moodle before grades post. Build hands-on lab supervision and student mentoring, which needs a person in the room.
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Next steps for high school teachers
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