Congress gave schools $190bn in pandemic aid for tech

Dozens of technology companies want a chance to prove their software is what schools need.Best of all, they often add, it won’t cost a dime from district budgets: schools can use their resources new federal funds.

They did it, and on a massive scale.

An Associated Press analysis of public records found that many of the largest school systems have spent tens of millions of dollars in pandemic funds buying technology companies’ software and services, including licenses for apps, games and tutoring websites.

Yet schools have little or no evidence that these programs help students. Some new software is rarely used.

The full scope of the spending is unclear because the aid comes as Few reporting requirements. Congress provided a record $190 billion to schools but did not 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 describing a range of software and technologies collectively referred to as “edtech.” Others did not respond or demanded payment totaling thousands of dollars to make the record.

Clark County Schools in the Las Vegas area, for example, signed two-year contracts worth at least $70 million with 12 educational technology consultants and companies. These include Achieve3000 (for a suite of learning apps), Age of Learning (for accelerated math and reading), Paper (for virtual tutoring), and Renaissance Learning (for learning apps Freckle and MyON).

The pandemic has sparked a boom in tech companies as schools go online. Revenues soared and investors poured billions into new startups.

Meanwhile, new marketing techniques make it easier for companies to get the attention of school officials, said Chris Ryan, who left the ed-tech industry to help school districts use technology effectively. Marketers, armed with automated sales tools, bombarded teachers and school leaders with phone calls, emails and targeted ads.

“It may be predatory, but at the same time, schools are looking for solutions, so the door is open,” Ryan said.

At the school’s office in rural Necousa, Wisconsin, operations manager Lynn Knight is fielding phone calls and emails.

“I know they have a job to do, but when there’s money, it’s like a vampire smelling blood,” she said. “It’s unbelievable how many calls we’ve had.”

These expenditures feed an industry where research and evidence are scarce.

“These funds are used for a wide variety of products and services, but are not allocated based on merit, equity or evidence,” said Bart Epstein, founder and former CEO of the EdTech Evidence Exchange. The EdTech Evidence Exchange is a non-profit organization that helps schools get the most out of their education. their technology. “Its distribution relies almost entirely on the power of marketing, branding and relationships.”

Many schools have purchased software to communicate with parents and teach remotely. But some of the biggest contracts go to companies that promise to help kids catch up.

Clark County Schools spent more than $7 million on the Achieve3000 application. Some of them are widely used, such as Smarty Ants, a literacy app aimed at young students.

Others don’t. Less than half of elementary school students use Freckle, a math app that cost the district $2 million. When they actually use it, the sessions average less than five minutes.

The district declined an interview request.

Some parents in Las Vegas say software shouldn’t be a priority in a district with aging buildings and more than 1,100 teacher vacancies.

“What’s the point of installing all this software when you don’t even have teachers coming to class? It doesn’t make sense,” said Lorena Rojas, who has two teenagers in the district.

Edtech has accounted for a relatively small share of pandemic spending. Clark County’s technology contracts awarded accounted for about 6% of its $1.2 billion in federal relief funds. But almost all schools have invested some money in technology.

as a region Spending the Last of the Pandemic Aidthere is no consensus on what the return on investment will be.

Edmentum says Clark County students who use one of its programs are doing better on standardized tests. But a study of the ThinkCERCA literacy program found it had no effect on scores.

A group of international researchers reported in September that education technology is generally failing to realize its potential. Researchers at Harvard University and universities in Norway and Germany say a lack of regulation gives companies little incentive to prove their products work.

The federal government did little to intervene.

The Department for Education urges schools to use technology with a proven track record and provide evidence of a rating system to evaluate products. The lowest level is a relatively easy target: Companies must “demonstrate the rationale for the product” and plan to study its effectiveness. Yet research has found that the vast majority of popular products don’t even meet this standard.

“There was never a proper accounting of how much money was spent or how it was deployed,” Epstein said. “You can call it mismanagement, you can call it a lack of oversight, you can call it a crisis. There’s a lot. “

Epstein called for greater federal oversight.

“Some companies are selling products for hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, only to find that the products are almost never used,” the nonprofit executive said.

In Louisville, Kentucky, educational technology contracts total more than $30 million. The Jefferson County School District has signed contracts with online tutoring companies Paper and FEV worth a total of $7.7 million. Millions more buy software from companies like Edmentum and ThinkCERCA to supplement classroom instruction.

Jefferson County declined a request for an interview, saying most of the contracts were approved by departed officials. When asked to provide records evaluating the use and effectiveness of the purchases, the district said it did not have them.

The district said it will treat this year as “a new beginning.”

“We will compile baseline data that will be analyzed by the new academic leadership team to determine the impact of these programs on student learning,” the district statement said.

In Prince George’s County, Maryland, curriculum director Kia McDaniel spent hours sifting through promotional materials. Her team tried to focus on software backed by independent research, but many products didn’t exist.

“We often do rely on the results that the sales team or the research team says the product can deliver,” she said.

Students have reaped benefits using some apps, but others have not caught on. The district paid IXL Learning $1.4 million for learning supports, but few students used it. Another online tutoring contract also failed to attract student interest.

The district plans to withdraw contracts that are ineffective and expand those that are.

Even before the pandemic, there was evidence that schools had trouble managing technology. A 2019 study by educational technology company Glimpse K 12 found that on average, 67% of educational software licenses in schools are idle.

Ultimately, no technology can guarantee results, said Ryan, a former edtech marketer.

“It’s like the Wild West, figuring it out,” he said. “If you take a step back, what really works is direct instruction with kids.”