Unused Educational Software Is Major Source of Wasted K-12 Spending, New Analysis Finds
May 14, 2019
By: Michelle R. Davis
Source: Market Brief
A new analysis of K-12 school district spending bolsters the notion that many ed-tech products and software purchased aren’t actually used or don’t have the intended impact.
Ed-tech company Glimpse K12 studied $2 billion in school spending and found that on average, 67 percent of educational software product licenses go unused. Glimpse K12 tracked 200,000 curriculum software licenses purchased by 275 schools during the 2017-2018 school year. The analysis found educational software was the biggest source of wasted spending in K-12 districts.
In some districts, up to 90 percent of purchased software licenses are not being used, said Glimpse K12 co-founder Adam Pearson. The analysis estimates that overall, the districts studied are losing about $2 million on these products throughout the school year.