Will teaching assistants be replaced by AI?
Updated
Teaching assistants score 30 of 100 for AI exposure. 58% of their task time still needs a person. AI can do 10% today and speed up another 32%.
- 10% AI can do it
- 32% AI helps
- 58% Needs a person
Moderate exposure
Lower than 63% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 28 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 4 of them today, speeds up 8 and leaves 16 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Grade homework and tests, and compute and record results, using answer sheets or electronic marking devices. Grading and recording scores is highly automatable with AI tools. | 80% AI can do it |
| Plan, prepare, and develop various teaching aids, such as bibliographies, charts, and graphs. AI can generate charts, bibliographies, and teaching aids for review. | 70% AI can do it |
| Type, file, and duplicate materials. Digital typing, filing, and document handling is routine AI work. | 65% AI can do it |
| Take class attendance and maintain attendance records. Attendance records can be digitized and maintained automatically. | 65% AI can do it |
| Prepare lesson materials, bulletin board displays, exhibits, equipment, and demonstrations. AI drafts lesson materials quickly; physical displays and equipment remain manual. | 45% AI helps |
| Observe students' performance, and record relevant data to assess progress. Observation is human, but AI can help structure and record progress data. | 35% AI helps |
| Requisition and stock teaching materials and supplies. Ordering can be automated, but physical stocking stays manual. | 35% AI helps |
| Tutor and assist children individually or in small groups to help them master assignments and to reinforce learning concepts presented by teachers. AI can draft practice and feedback, but tutoring children stays in person. | 30% AI helps |
| Maintain computers in classrooms and laboratories, and assist students with hardware and software use. AI can troubleshoot software issues, but hardware upkeep is physical. | 30% AI helps |
| Present subject matter to students under the direction and guidance of teachers, using lectures, discussions, supervised role-playing methods, or by reading aloud. AI helps prepare content, but live presenting to students is human-led. | 25% AI helps |
Show the other 18 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations. AI can help build slides and media, but operating equipment is hands-on. | 25% AI helps |
| Discuss assigned duties with classroom teachers to coordinate instructional efforts. Coordination conversations are human, though AI can summarize plans. | 15% AI helps |
| Operate and maintain audio-visual equipment. Operating and maintaining physical audio-visual equipment is hands-on. | 15% Needs a person |
| Collect money from students for school-related projects. Handling student money in person; only record keeping is digital. | 15% Needs a person |
| Distribute tests and homework assignments and collect them when they are completed. Physically distributing and collecting papers in the classroom. | 12% Needs a person |
| Enforce administration policies and rules governing students. Enforcing rules on students requires in-person authority and judgement. | 10% Needs a person |
| Organize and label materials and display students' work in a manner appropriate for their eye levels and perceptual skills. Physical arranging and posting of student work at child eye level. | 10% Needs a person |
| Distribute teaching materials, such as textbooks, workbooks, papers, and pencils, to students. Physically handing out materials to students in the room. | 10% Needs a person |
| Participate in teacher-parent conferences regarding students' progress or problems. Parent conferences need live, sensitive human conversation and accountability. | 10% Needs a person |
| Teach social skills to students. Social skills teaching depends on live interaction with children. | 8% Needs a person |
| Attend staff meetings and serve on committees, as required. Attending meetings and committee service requires human presence. | 8% Needs a person |
| Supervise students in classrooms, halls, cafeterias, school yards, and gymnasiums, or on field trips. Physical supervision of children in shared spaces needs a person present. | 5% Needs a person |
| Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials to prevent injuries and damage. Hands-on safety instruction with physical equipment in the room. | 5% Needs a person |
| Organize and supervise games and other recreational activities to promote physical, mental, and social development. Leading games and recreation is physical, in-person supervision. | 5% Needs a person |
| Conduct demonstrations to teach skills, such as sports, dancing, and handicrafts. Live physical demonstrations of sports, dance, and handicrafts. | 5% Needs a person |
| Laminate teaching materials to increase their durability under repeated use. Physical laminating of materials with machine handling. | 5% Needs a person |
| Clean classrooms. Physical cleaning of rooms. | 2% Needs a person |
| Assist in bus loading and unloading. Physical loading and unloading of buses. | 2% Needs a person |
How teaching assistants compare
All occupations (923)
Educational instruction and library (62)
Skills to build
- Supervise students in halls, cafeterias, and school yards
- Lead recreation games that build physical and social skills
- Demonstrate sports, dance, and handicrafts live in class
- Set up bulletin boards, exhibits, and classroom equipment manually
- Review AI-drafted grades in Excel before entering them in Blackboard
Safer roles nearby
2 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about teaching assistants and AI
Will AI replace teaching assistants?
Partly. About 2 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly grading and recording test scores plus preparing charts and teaching aids. Supervising children, leading games, and demonstrating skills stay with people because they need a person physically present in the room.
Which tasks will AI take over for teaching assistants?
Grading homework and tests scores 80 on exposure, the highest in this job, because answer sheets and electronic marking devices produce scores that AI can compute and record directly. Typing, filing, and duplicating materials scores 65, and attendance records score 65 too, since they are routine digital records.
Which tasks stay human for teaching assistants?
Cleaning classrooms, bus loading, and supervising students score 2 to 5 on exposure, the lowest in this job. Demonstrating sports, dance, and handicrafts also scores 5 because a live demonstration needs a body in the room, and hands-on equipment safety instruction stays with the adult standing beside the student.
How can teaching assistants stay valuable with AI?
Lead the physical work and check the software output. Run supervision, games, and demonstrations in person, and set up bulletin boards and exhibits manually. Review AI-drafted teaching aids and graded results in Excel or Google Classroom before they reach students, and log observations of student progress in Schoology or Blackboard.
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