AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 25-2011.00

Will AI replace Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education?

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education: AI can already handle 19 of 34 tasks; the work mostly needs a frontier-tier model.

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Every task, scored

The 34 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education, from most to least exposed. 19 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.

Task AI exposure Evidence Model tier Importance
Organize and label materials and display students' work in a manner appropriate for their ages and perceptual skills. 90 Estimated Efficient 4.0
Provide a variety of materials and resources for children to explore, manipulate, and use, both in learning activities and in imaginative play. 75 Estimated Efficient 4.6
Attend to children's basic needs by feeding them, dressing them, and changing their diapers. 75 Estimated Efficient 4.5
Assimilate arriving children to the school environment by greeting them, helping them remove outerwear, and selecting activities of interest to them. 75 Estimated Efficient 4.4
Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities. 75 Estimated Efficient 4.4
Read books to entire classes or to small groups. 75 Estimated Standard 4.4
Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects and communicate those objectives to children. 75 Estimated Frontier 4.3
Arrange indoor and outdoor space to facilitate creative play, motor-skill activities, and safety. 75 Estimated Efficient 4.3
Demonstrate activities to children. 75 Estimated Standard 4.3
Enforce all administration policies and rules governing students. 75 Estimated Standard 4.2
Prepare and implement remedial programs for students requiring extra help. 75 Estimated Frontier 4.1
Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms. 75 Estimated Efficient 4.0
Prepare reports on students and activities as required by administration. 75 Estimated Efficient 3.9
Perform administrative duties, such as hall and cafeteria monitoring and bus loading and unloading. 75 Estimated Standard 3.9
Meet with other professionals to discuss individual students' needs and progress. 75 Estimated Standard 3.8
Select, store, order, issue, and inventory classroom equipment, materials, and supplies. 75 Estimated Frontier 3.8
Attend staff meetings and serve on committees as required. 75 Estimated Frontier 3.6
Observe and evaluate children's performance, behavior, social development, and physical health. 65 Estimated Standard 4.4
Supervise, evaluate, and plan assignments for teacher assistants and volunteers. 65 Estimated Standard 3.8
Meet with parents and guardians to discuss their children's progress and needs, determine their priorities for their children, and suggest ways that they can promote learning and development. 50 Estimated Frontier 4.5
Organize and lead activities designed to promote physical, mental, and social development, such as games, arts and crafts, music, storytelling, and field trips. 50 Estimated Frontier 4.5
Identify children showing signs of emotional, developmental, or health-related problems and discuss them with supervisors, parents or guardians, and child development specialists. 50 Estimated Standard 4.4
Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula. 50 Estimated Standard 4.0
Collaborate with other teachers and administrators in the development, evaluation, and revision of preschool programs. 50 Estimated Standard 3.9
Plan and supervise class projects, field trips, visits by guests, or other experiential activities and guide students in learning from those activities. 50 Estimated Frontier 3.9
Administer tests to help determine children's developmental levels, needs, and potential. 50 Estimated Standard 3.7
Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate. 40 Observed Standard 4.2
Teach basic skills, such as color, shape, number and letter recognition, personal hygiene, and social skills. 35 Estimated Efficient 4.6
Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs and interests. 35 Estimated Efficient 4.6
Teach proper eating habits and personal hygiene. 35 Estimated Efficient 4.3
Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, and teacher training workshops to maintain and improve professional competence. 35 Estimated Efficient 4.0
Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order. 20 Estimated Standard 4.6
Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.4
Serve meals and snacks in accordance with nutritional guidelines. 12 Estimated No tier 4.5

Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 1 of 34 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 33 of 34. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.

The model tier this role needs

A frontier-tier model or lower covers 97% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 97% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 3% is hands-on.

Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.

Wages, employment and outlook

US employment
478,780
Median annual wage
$38,140
Middle half of earners
$34,530 to $47,550
Projected change, 2024 to 2034
+4.1%

Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.

Adjacent roles

The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.

Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.

Questions about Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education and AI

Will AI replace Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education?

AI already handles 19 of the 34 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 58 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by +4.1% from 2024 to 2034.

What is the AI exposure of Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education?

58 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 1 of the 34 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 33 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.

Which Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education tasks can AI already do?

The tasks with the highest exposure are: Organize and label materials and display students' work in a manner appropriate for their ages and perceptual skills; Provide a variety of materials and resources for children to explore, manipulate, and use, both in learning activities and in imaginative play; Attend to children's basic needs by feeding them, dressing them, and changing their diapers. They are three of the 19 tasks that reach 60 or more.

What AI model tier does this role need?

A frontier-tier model or lower covers 97% of the role's importance-weighted task work. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.

How many people work as Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education, and what do they earn?

478,780 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $38,140 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +4.1% from 2024 to 2034.

How to cite

Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.

JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/preschool-teachers-except-special-education

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