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Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education

Teach academic and social skills to students at the elementary school level.

1,388,390 people do this job in the US. $63,970 a year.

now
29%

of the working time. Estimate.

Kinds of work
  • 35%
  • 8%
  • 56%
10%

Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.

Half the desk work within reach
Already

On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.

Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030

0%25%50%75%100%2027202820292030NowDesk work: 35% of the time
Chosen to Ceiling: the share
DateNow
NowEnd of 2030

What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .

At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.

How far this has come

With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 26%. Today's estimate: 29%.

0%10%20%30%40%2023202420252026GPT-4, March 2023: 0% within reachGPT-4 Turbo (Nov 2023), November 2023: 0% within reachGPT-4o, May 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.5 Sonnet (June 2024), June 2024: 0% within reacho1-preview, September 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.5 Sonnet (Oct 2024), October 2024: 0% within reacho1, December 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.7 Sonnet, February 2025: 0% within reacho3, April 2025: 4% within reachGPT-5, August 2025: 6% within reachGemini 3 Pro, November 2025: 10% within reachClaude Opus 4.5, November 2025: 10% within reachGPT-5.2, December 2025: 13% within reachClaude Opus 4.6, February 2026: 14% within reachClaude Mythos Preview (early), April 2026: 26% within reachToday (estimate), September 2026: 29% within reach
Each step is a new best model measured by METR, four in five; the dashed end is today's estimate. Point at a dot for the model.

A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.

The tasks

Sorted by . 38 tasks from .

TaskKind
Instruct students individually and in groups, using teaching methods such as lectures, discussions, and demonstrations.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 10%50 min25 min to 1.7 hStays with people
Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.Done hourly or more by most who do it. AI observed on this task.9%1.3 h38 min to 2.5 hStays with people
Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs and interests.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task.8%1.1 h25 min to 2.1 h95%Half by now
Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task.8%2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h46%Half by Oct 2026
Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among the students.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 4%25 min13 min to 50 minStays with people
Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.Done hourly or more by most who do it. AI observed on this task.4%25 min13 min to 50 minStays with people
Assign and grade class work and homework.Done daily by most who do it. 4%50 min25 min to 1.7 h99%Half by now
Prepare and implement remedial programs for students requiring extra help.Done daily by most who do it. 4%1.3 h38 min to 2.5 hStays with people
Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.Done daily by most who do it. 4%33 min17 min to 1.1 hStays with people
Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.Done hourly or more by most who do it. AI observed on this task.4%25 min13 min to 50 minStays with people
Organize and lead activities designed to promote physical, mental, and social development, such as games, arts and crafts, music, and storytelling.Done daily by most who do it. 3%50 min17 min to 2.1 hStays with people
Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects and communicate those objectives to students.Done daily by most who do it. 3%25 min13 min to 50 min100%Half by now

Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.

Jobs that share skills with this one

From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.

Where this job works

The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).

Where the most of these jobs are

The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).