School Psychologists
In short: today's best AI models could do about 55% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about 65% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 34% of the time, stays with people.
Diagnose and implement individual or schoolwide interventions or strategies to address educational, behavioral, or developmental issues that adversely impact educational functioning in a school. May address student learning and behavioral problems and counsel students or families. May design and implement performance plans, and evaluate performance. May consult with other school-based personnel.
63,940 people do this job in the US. $95,990 a year.
Reviewed on October 2, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on2 h
- A person checks AI's work20 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet4 h
- Stays with people14 h
School Psychologists, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 2 hours, 20 hours become checking its work, 4 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 14 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Write psychological reports (about 6 h, a person checks); Maintain student records (about 4 h, a person checks); Interpret test results and diagnose (about 3 h, a person checks).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 57%
- 9%
- 1%
- 34%
- 0%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 55% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
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, 15%. Today's estimate: 56%.
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.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, 0.032% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 283rd largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 2 of its 19 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.042% to 0.047% (released February and March 2025); 0.045% to 0.044% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.023% to 0.032% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.042% | 301 of 708 | 7 of 19 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.047% | 280 of 703 | 6 of 19 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.045% | 252 of 655 | 5 of 19 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.045% | 253 of 672 | 6 of 19 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.044% | 265 of 677 | 4 of 19 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.023% | 318 of 434 | 1 of 19 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.032% | 283 of 447 | 2 of 19 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates almost none of this job's working time as physical work, so robots do not reach it.
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
33% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Lead diversity efforts in the school, the in-person work, 11%
- Develop strategies with school staff, the in-person work, 4%
- Counsel children and families, the in-person work, 3%
- Give and score psychological tests, the in-person work, 3%
- Explain child development to the school community, the in-person work, 3%
- Assess a child's needs, the in-person work, 2%
What becomes checking the machine
56% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it. Another 8% is desk work that is small if wrong, which can be handed over with lighter checks.
- Write psychological reports, a licensed person signs, 14%
- Maintain student records, severe if wrong, 11%
- Evaluate school programs with data, costly if wrong, 8%
- Interpret test results and diagnose, a licensed person signs, 7%
- Conduct research on learning and behavior, costly if wrong, 5%
- Design programs for special students, costly if wrong, 4%
What to learn
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself. The tasks under What becomes checking the machine, where a mistake costs something, stay a person's to check or sign: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts. About 57% of the time is documents and data, the part models reach first: writing a clear brief, giving the right material, and checking what comes back.
- Judgment where errors are severe. Some tasks are severe if wrong. Knowing when not to trust an output matters more there than speed.
- Signing off under your license. Some tasks need a licensed, certified or sworn person to do or sign them. The license, and the judgment it stands for, stays with the person.
- The conversations. About 34% of the time is conversation and in-person work, which this site leaves with people: listening, explaining, persuading, calming.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 19 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initiate and direct efforts to foster tolerance, understanding, and appreciation of diversity in school communities.Running assemblies, groups and programs in the school, with the planning behind them.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 18% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.5 work days | In person 60%, documents 40% | 22%Desk part half by now |
| Interpret test results and prepare psychological reports for teachers, administrators, and parents.Writing up what the tests show for the teachers and the family.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 14% | 5 h1.7 h to 6.7 h | Documents 100% | 98%Half by now |
| Maintain student records, including special education reports, confidential records, records of services provided, and behavioral data.Keeping the special education reports, service records and behavior data in the student files.Done daily by most who do it. | 11% | 1.7 h25 min to 2.5 h | Systems 70%, documents 30% | 100%Half by now |
| Collect and analyze data to evaluate the effectiveness of academic programs and other services, such as behavioral management systems.Pulling the behavior and achievement data and analyzing what the programs changed.Done more than weekly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 8% | 5 h2.5 h to 1.7 work days | Documents 80%, systems 20% | 92%Half by now |
| Compile and interpret students' test results, along with information from teachers and parents, to diagnose conditions and to help assess eligibility for special services.Putting the scores and reports together and deciding what condition they show and what services apply.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 7% | 4.2 h2.5 h to 5.8 h | Documents 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Conduct research to generate new knowledge that can be used to address learning and behavior issues.Reading, analysis and writing, with some data gathered from students.Done more than monthly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 7% | 1 work week1 work day to 2.8 work weeks | Documents 80%, in person 20% | 3%Desk part half by Mar 2028 |
| Collaborate with other educational professionals to develop teaching strategies and school programs.Working with teachers and staff at the school on strategies and programs, with the plans written up.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 1.7 h38 min to 2.5 h | In person 70%, documents 30% | 30%Desk part half by now |
| Assess an individual child's needs, limitations, and potential, using observation, review of school records, and consultation with parents and school personnel.Observing the child, reading the records and talking with parents and teachers, then weighing it all.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 5% | 2.1 h1.3 h to 4.2 h | Documents 50%, in person 50% | 50%Desk part half by now |
| Select, administer, and score psychological tests.Sitting with the child through the tests, then scoring them.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 5% | 2.5 h1.3 h to 5 h | In person 60%, documents 40% | 40%Desk part half by now |
| Promote an understanding of child development and its relationship to learning and behavior.Talks and conversations with staff and parents about how children develop, and the material behind them.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 1.7 h50 min to 3.3 h | In person 70%, documents 30% | 30%Desk part half by now |
| Design classes and programs to meet the needs of special students.Designing the classes and programs for students with special needs.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 6.7 h3.3 h to 2.5 work days | Documents 100% | 80%Half by now |
| Counsel children and families to help solve conflicts and problems in learning and adjustment.Counseling sessions with the child or the family at the school.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 1.7 h38 min to 2.5 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
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. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% 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.
- Clinical and Counseling Psychologists34% now, 50% by 2028
- Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors29% now, 32% by 2028
- Marriage and Family Therapists32% now, 35% by 2028
- Special Education Teachers, Secondary School36% now, 36% by 2028
- Child, Family, and School Social Workers32% now, 44% by 2028
- Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers27% now, 43% by 2028
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).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of School Psychologists is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 56% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 65% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (62% to 66% across the three paces the site shows). Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of School Psychologists come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Write psychological reports (98% of the task's time now); Maintain student records (100% of the task's time now); and Interpret test results and diagnose (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of School Psychologists stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Counsel children and families; Consult with parents and teachers; and Support families and schools in crises. Together such tasks are about 8% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should School Psychologists learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are reviewing work you did not do yourself; briefing a model and checking its drafts; and judgment where errors are severe. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 33% of the working time stays with people, 56% becomes checking a model's work and 8% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of School Psychologists?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.032% went to this job's tasks, the 283rd largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 2 of its 19 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 5%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of School Psychologists?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds almost none of the working time is physical work, so robots do not reach it.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 19 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on October 2, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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