The National Assessment of Educational Progress report, or what is more commonly called the “Nation’s Report Card NAEP” for 2022, showed the largest score declines since the first time this assessment began three decades ago.
Image source: NAEP Long-Term Trend Assessment Results: Reading and Mathematics
The steep decline has raised concerns for the US economy as a whole if the current “learning” generation does not recover from the setbacks in the K-12 segment. And the cost of recovery has been estimated at $700 billion for the United States.
The situation is intensified by the increasing gaps between highest- and lowest-scoring students, staffing shortages, the unsystematic introduction of education technology, the sudden shift to first remote and then hybrid education, and challenges faced by educational institutions and the US Department of Education.
But the picture is far from bleak. The NAEP report suggests opportunities for EdTech to drive the revolution that the US education system aches for.
5 Charters Driving the US Education Industry beyond 2023
Learning Loss Recovery
The foremost need is to bridge the learning loss. This is not just important for K-12 level education but also for those ready to enter the job market. For them, the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) has launched a plan inviting digital innovators to build digital tools that can aid in reimagining career navigation for adult learners with the launch of a $1 million Future Finder Challenge.
Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
The National Report Card also revealed the need for a shift of focus from right and wrong answers to the pathway of learning. Learners need to be taught skills through creative exploration and inquiry to enable them to foster awareness and compassion while improving self-expression. The NAEP proposes to do so by “tutoring at scale” via tapping into the “learning from anywhere” paradigm of EdTech. Accelerating staffing to deliver one-to-one lessons to students across geographies can promote SEL, which in turn will help fill in learning gaps.
Comprehensive Data Insights
The need of the hour now is to build learning solutions oriented to learning outcomes. This also requires a shift in assessments and analytics to understand how lessons are impacting student lives and which ones are the most effective in achieving the desired outcomes. The insights generated from the data will highlight actionable items for teachers to adequately assist learner growth. Education technology with built-in lesson recommendations, growth analytics, and improvement guidance can be of huge help here.
Teacher Professional Development
Teachers are the frontline warriors of the education system. So, EdTech should first address teachers’ needs. This can propel the overall education system toward a speedy recovery from learning loss. Providing on-the-job support for educators to learn and evolve with the changing needs of students can be accelerated through innovative tech solutions. Plus, EdTech can simplify the process of lesson creation, evaluation, and administrative work, freeing up teachers’ time and mind space. Relieving educators of stress and some of their workload can bring about positive results in education delivery.
How to Break your product into the US Market
EdTech companies that empower teachers and students will gain a competitive edge in the US market. The global online K-12 education market is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 8.3% between 2023 and 2028 to reach a value of $12,930 million by 2028. To capitalize on this space, your product needs to really empower teachers and students and simplify their daily learning tasks. Tools that stand a high chance of winning state adoptions are those that have the right compliances in place, are state-aligned, and are evidence-based. In addition, edtech tools that aspire to break into the US market must promote accessibility and inclusivity to further the Education Department’s vision.
What factors can help you grow your product user base in the US market?
A Focus on Efficacy
Enhance your solutions with effective learning analytics to make your products evidence-based. These insights will be used by educators to improve lesson plans and track student engagement. Ultimately, you will be able to prove that your product is achieving the desired learning outcomes. Products must be designed for learner efficacy as well as instructional efficacy. As mentioned above, instruction needs a shift from helping students learn the right answers to empowering them to find the solution through an understanding of concepts and principles. Consider delivering your online products over a platform that helps you track product usage and engagement.
Integrate within the Existing School System
Your digital learning solutions should be primed to integrate with an existing school or district ecosystem. Most schools and colleges in the US look for interoperability and adaptability when adopting new edtech solutions. These are easy to set up using simple APIs if your solution architecture is flexible. Besides fitting in, it must arm teachers with comprehensive learning materials in the form of audio, video, and gaming elements, as well as assessments, so they can easily have all the resources they need in one place.
Conform with US Standards and Compliances
A prerequisite for the adoption of any education product is its compliance with regulatory requirements, such as FERPA, COPPA, and GDPR, as well as industry standards, such as LTI, QTI, SCORM, and TinCan or xAPI. Also, assessments should comply with State Standards, WebDoK, Bloom’s taxonomy, etc. This will ensure a unified education framework across the nation. To do this, it is imperative that your product or app is distributed over a trusted platform that comes equipped with these compliances.
An innovative solution can transform the entire learning process into an outcome-focused journey. While it may seem daunting to enter the US education market, your focus must be on the above three points.
The goal of every edtech product is to ease the journey for teachers and students. By aligning their strategies with the goals of the US Department of Education, EdTech companies can pave the way for their offerings to be the first choice for school districts.
Hiring and maintaining in-house teams to develop and sell solutions that empower the entire education system is resource-intensive. It might even be beyond the financial capacity of startups. This is where partnering with a provider of cloud-based, plug-and-play solutions can be of huge help. After all, why spend all that time, effort, and money reinventing the wheel?
Innovation and experience are guiding the evolution of EdTech systems. MagicBox™ is a world leader in providing powerful technology solutions for K-12 and higher education that can easily be integrated with your existing technology platform. Contact us to learn more.
