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Teachers

Educators Embrace AI and CTE as Key to Career-Ready Students

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Educators across the US are rapidly adopting AI and Career and Technical Education (CTE) as essential tools to prepare students for their future beyond high school. The 2025 Savvas Educator Index, an annual national survey of K-12 teachers and administrators, reveals a significant shift in educator confidence in career-connected learning, with 66% planning to increase AI use in the 2025-26 school year. However, educators also express concern that AI use may be negatively impacting students' development of durable skills like communication and critical thinking.

Key Takeaways:

  • 66% of educators plan to increase AI use in the 2025-26 school year, up from 57% last year. Among those who teach or oversee high school, more than half (56%) believe understanding AI is "very" or "extremely" important for students' future success.
  • Only 5% of educators are confident that their students know how to use AI responsibly and critically, with 70% saying they have received no professional development to support students in learning to use AI for schoolwork.
  • The majority (70%) of educators believe current AI use is negatively impacting students' development of essential skills, with 51% of grade 6-8 teachers and 68% of high school teachers sharing this concern.
  • CTE programs are seen as the leading model for future workforce readiness, with more than double the number of educators selecting CTE (63%) as the top program to best prepare students for success after high school compared to Advanced Placement (AP) courses (26%).
  • Among educators who believe CTE programs help students be successful after high school, 87% identified job-ready skills and technical training, and 79% identified early exposure to career pathways and interests as key benefits.
  • Dual enrollment programs are also seen as powerful tools to help students prepare for college and career pathways, with 88% of educators citing the opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school as a major advantage.
  • Three-fourths of educators surveyed (75%) cited lack of motivation as a leading challenge for the coming school year, with 64% of high school educators saying motivation is a major barrier to earning a living wage after high school.

Statistics:

  • 66% of educators plan to increase AI use in the 2025-26 school year.
  • 70% of educators say they have received no professional development to support students in learning to use AI for schoolwork.
  • 51% of grade 6-8 teachers and 68% of high school teachers believe current AI use is negatively impacting students' development of essential skills.
  • 63% of educators select CTE as the top program to best prepare students for success after high school.
  • 88% of educators cite the opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school as a major advantage of dual enrollment programs.
  • 75% of educators surveyed (75%) cited lack of motivation as a leading challenge for the coming school year.

Sources:

  • Savvas Learning Company, "2025 Savvas Educator Index"
  • Savvas Learning Company, "About the Survey"
  • Savvas Learning Company, "About Savvas Learning Company"

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