Aigul Rakisheva, Sam Lindgren & Carine Verschueren
In late 2025, we conducted a statewide survey to better understand how K-12 teachers are currently using artificial intelligence (AI) in their classroom and perceive its role in teaching and learning. Nearly 900 teachers responded offering a snapshot of how AI is quickly shaping the future of education. Teachers however have received limited guidance about which tools are most effective and how to use them responsibly in their work.
The unweighted descriptive statistics shared here provide insights into how teachers are using AI in their practice and what challenges and concerns they report. These findings provide an early look at the emerging patterns in AI adoption in Illinois. A more detailed report that examines AI and its intersection with climate change education will be released in Spring 2026.
1. AI is already part of many teachers’ daily practice
Most teachers who completed the survey (68%) reported using AI in the past 12 months (Fig. 1) There is little variance throughout the state. Teachers from all disciplines and grade bands reported using AI in their teaching practice (Fig. 2).
2. Teachers use AI for pragmatic tasks.
Teachers most frequently reported using AI to help them generate lessons plans and to support efficient learning and topic summarization. They also reported using AI to adjust lesson difficulty for diverse learning needs and to generate student feedback and parent communication. Furthermore, they used AI to support students with special education needs and practicing new skills (Fig. 3).
3. Generative AI is most commonly used.
Teachers in our sample reported using generative AI tools, like ChatGPT, most frequently. Adaptive learning platform were the second most frequently used, followed by AI tools integrated into learning management systems.
4. Not all teachers are adopting AI.
For the 32% of Illinois teachers who reported never using AI in the classroom, the most common reason is the belief that AI should not be used in education (44%). Other reasons include a lack of knowledge and skills related to AI and feeling overwhelmed by new technologies. A small portion of teachers reported limited access to digital tools or infrastructure or the fact that AI is not allowed in their school (Fig. 5).
5. Teachers are concerned about the use of AI.
Among the perceptions of AI and despite a majority of teachers using AI in some part of their teaching practice, concerns about AI in education remain (Fig. 6). Ninety percent of teachers are concerned that AI may reduce students’ critical thinking. They also fear that the use of AI may lead to incorrect recommendations or misrepresentation of information. More than half of the teachers worry about data privacy and student surveillance, intellectual property and copyright issues, as well as risks related to bias and equity. Approximately one-third of the teachers say they are concerned about either unsuitable teaching approaches suggest by AI, or unequal access to AI technologies.
