Back to School Survey: Teens Believe Schools Do a Good Job Preparing Them for an AI Future, but Still Have Concerns About Job Prospects

A new Junior Achievement survey, with data collection by Ipsos, reveals that six in ten teens (61%) agree with the statement “my school is doing a good job of preparing me for a world being changed by Artificial Intelligence.”  Despite this, more than half of teens 13-17 (55%) agree with the statement “I am concerned about the impact AI will have on my ability to get a job in the future.” The survey of 1,005 teens aged 13 to 17 was conducted June 29 and 30 by Ipsos. 

Despite these concerns, over two-thirds of American teens surveyed (68%) feel positively about the future, describing their feelings as either "optimistic" (34%) or "hopeful" (34%). In terms of how they are being taught, nearly nine in ten (87%) teens agree they learn best when they can apply learning to real-world situations. 

“These results show that the potential impact of AI on their futures is top-of-mind for teens,” said Jack Harris, CEO of Junior Achievement USA. “While schools are doing the best they can to help prepare students with the durable skills, like critical thinking and problem-solving, needed to navigate an economy being shaped by AI, our research shows that education leaders are looking for partners to help students develop these skills. With Junior Achievement’s proven learning experiences based on real-world scenarios, we are helping schools and students do just that.” 

Junior Achievement is the leader in experiential learning that helps students better understand what they have learned academically through real-world simulations. Junior Achievement does this through its extensive national network of experiential learning centers (Finance Park, BizTown, and Dream Accelerator), its case method approach which is strategically integrated with schools (3DE), as well as its traditional in-school and after-school experiences (JA Company Program, K-5 Suite, JA Stock Market Challenge).  

A survey summary can be found here. 

Survey Methodology: 

These are findings of a Junior Achievement survey, with data collection provided by Ipsos, conducted between June 29-30, 2026.  For this survey, a nationally representative sample of 1,005 U.S. teens aged 13 to 17 were surveyed online in English. The results of this research have a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points for all respondents.