Research Report

Report Finds Uneven and Untested Investment in Educational Technology

Students in the classroom. Photo by Katie MorrowEducation technology is, by some estimates, a $5 billion-a-year industry, with school districts pouring millions into computers, software and infrastructure. But according to a recent report, troubling questions remain about how fairly those funds are distributed and whether schools know what they are getting for their dollars.

The report from the liberal think tank the Center for American Progress found that schools are missing the opportunity to get the most out of technology because of several key failings.

“Far too often, school leaders fail to consider how technology might dramatically improve teaching and learning, and schools frequently acquire digital devices without discrete learning goals and ultimately use these devices in ways that fail to adequately serve students, schools, or taxpayers,” CAP senior fellow Ulrich Boser writes.

Key Findings

  • 0 – The number of states that have done a complete Return On Investment assessment of what has been achieved by investing in educational technology.
  • Black students were more than 20 percentage points more likely to use computers for drill and practice than white students.
  • 68% of white students regularly used computers for science class, compared to 60% of Hispanic students.
  • States have widely varying use of technology in the classroom. For example, 50% of Louisiana middle school math students said that they regularly used a computer for drill while only 25% of Oregon students did.

The report has several specific recommendations that it would make sense for game developers to consider if they plan on marketing their product to schools.

First, Boser echoes many when he finds that gaming should be used as part of an effort to personally tailor education to students’ abilities, writing, “for the most part, schools basically treat all students the same, and far too few teachers personalize their teaching to individual students and their particular needs and skills. But well-built computer programs easily do this through personalized interaction. Differentiation is, in fact, built into almost every video game.”

But to achieve this, schools and teachers need to consider why they are investing in a given technology, answering what learning goals the technology will help the student achieve.

Echoing earlier statements from an official from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Boser also concludes that advocates for technology must encourage more systematic studies of its effectiveness.

“Study after study shows that technology in education can raise student outcomes under certain conditions,” he writes. “The question now is how we can bring those outcomes to scale and at what cost. Education leaders could be doing far more in this area, including close and careful studies of technology’s return on investment.”

For those looking to enter or expand in the school market it is important to note these are areas where schools are struggling. Products that help them assess the success of their investment and demonstrate the effectiveness of a game to help a student learn a specific skill are likely to find a warmer welcome.