An Associated Press analysis of public records found many of the largest U.S. school systems spent tens of millions of dollars in pandemic money on software and services from tech companies, including licenses for apps, games, and tutoring websites; schools, however, have little or no evidence the programs helped students, and some of the new software was rarely used.
The full scope of spending is unknown as the aid came with few reporting requirements. Congress gave schools a record $190 billion but didn’t require them to publicly report individual purchases.
The AP asked the nation’s 30 largest school districts for contracts funded by federal pandemic aid. About half provided records illuminating an array of software and technology, collectively called “edtech.” Others didn’t respond or demanded fees for producing the records totaling thousands of dollars.
The pandemic sparked a boom for tech companies as schools went online. Revenue skyrocketed, and investors poured billions into startups. The spending fed an industry in which research and evidence are scarce.
Many schools bought software to communicate with parents and teach students remotely, but some of the biggest contracts went to companies that promised to help kids catch up on learning.
Education technology accounts for a relatively small piece of pandemic spending, but nearly all schools spent some money on technology, and as districts spend the last of their pandemic aid, there is no consensus on how well the investments paid off.
A team of international researchers reported in September that edtech has generally failed to live up to its potential. With little regulation, companies have few incentives to prove their products work, according to the researchers at Harvard and universities in Norway and Germany.
Even before the pandemic, there was evidence that schools struggled to manage technology. A 2019 study by education technology company Glimpse K 12 found, on average, schools let 67% of their educational software licenses go unused.
Many maintain the vast superiority of direct instruction.
