LAUSD spent $1.6 billion on education technology. Two-thirds of those licenses went unused. There is no peer-reviewed evidence this spending improved student learning.
Ed-tech is a trillion-dollar industry. School districts are its most reliable customers. The research on whether ed-tech improves learning is mixed at best — and most positive studies are funded by the companies selling the products.
LAUSD has been one of the industry’s most valuable customers. Since 2022, the district committed $1.6 billion to ed-tech companies. The results: fewer than half of students meet reading standards. Fewer than 37% meet math standards. Both figures are all-time highs.
LAUSD pays Curriculum Associates $20 million for a product called iReady — an adaptive reading and math assessment platform used in thousands of schools across the country.
An internal LAUSD memo obtained by researchers states that iReady is not required by the district. A free state alternative already exists. Despite this, the contract was renewed.
The UNESCO 2023 Global Education Monitoring Report — the most comprehensive independent review of ed-tech ever conducted — found there is little robust evidence on digital technology’s added value in education. It also found that most positive research is funded by the companies trying to sell the products.
LAUSD renewed the contract anyway.
“There is little robust evidence on digital technology’s added value in education.”
— UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report, 2023