View in EDS

The $30 Billion Question: Why Doesn't the Education Market Reward What Works?

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: The $30 Billion Question: Why Doesn't the Education Market Reward What Works?
Language: English
Authors: Auditi Chakravarty, Mark Schneider, American Enterprise Institute (AEI)
Source: American Enterprise Institute. 2026.
Availability: American Enterprise Institute. 1150 Seventeenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-862-5800; Fax: 202-862-7177; Web site: http://www.aei.org
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 7
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Reports - Descriptive
Descriptors: Educational Technology, Free Enterprise System, Technology Uses in Education, Research and Development, Educational Research, Educational Finance, Theory Practice Relationship, Federal Government, Private Financial Support
Abstract: US spending on K-12 education technology reached $30 billion in 2024; some estimates predict this number will double by 2033. Online learning platforms and devices are sold as tools that could pull students out of their decade-long, COVID-exacerbated learning slump. Yet student test scores continue to stagnate, fueling a growing backlash against education technology, which often comes in the form of cell phone bans and restrictions on screen time in school. The problem is not that effective programs don't exist. The problem is America lacks a reliable bridge between research and scale--one that moves proven tools to millions of students and keeps unproven ones out of schools. Too many products reach schools because they are well marketed, easy to buy, or offered by familiar vendors, not because they have been shown to improve learning. Meanwhile, too many evidence-backed ideas remain stuck in universities, labs, pilot programs, or philanthropy-funded demonstrations without a viable path to the students who need them. America needs a research and development (R&D) ecosystem that can identify innovations that work, help them improve, and guide their adoption by their evidence of impact. Technology and private enterprise are already part of American education. The challenge is to build an evidence system that helps schools, funders, and policymakers distinguish what works from what sells.
Abstractor: ERIC
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: ED681624
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
CustomLinks:
  – Url: https://eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED681624
    Name: ERIC Full Text
    Category: fullText
    Text: Full Text from ERIC
Header DbId: eric
DbLabel: ERIC
An: ED681624
AccessLevel: 3
PubType: Report
PubTypeId: report
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: The $30 Billion Question: Why Doesn't the Education Market Reward What Works?
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Auditi+Chakravarty%22">Auditi Chakravarty</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mark+Schneider%22">Mark Schneider</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22American+Enterprise+Institute+%28AEI%29%22">American Enterprise Institute (AEI)</searchLink>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22American+Enterprise+Institute%22"><i>American Enterprise Institute</i></searchLink>. 2026.
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: American Enterprise Institute. 1150 Seventeenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-862-5800; Fax: 202-862-7177; Web site: http://www.aei.org
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: N
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 7
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2026
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Reports - Descriptive
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Technology%22">Educational Technology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Free+Enterprise+System%22">Free Enterprise System</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Technology+Uses+in+Education%22">Technology Uses in Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+and+Development%22">Research and Development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Research%22">Educational Research</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Finance%22">Educational Finance</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Theory+Practice+Relationship%22">Theory Practice Relationship</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Federal+Government%22">Federal Government</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Private+Financial+Support%22">Private Financial Support</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: US spending on K-12 education technology reached $30 billion in 2024; some estimates predict this number will double by 2033. Online learning platforms and devices are sold as tools that could pull students out of their decade-long, COVID-exacerbated learning slump. Yet student test scores continue to stagnate, fueling a growing backlash against education technology, which often comes in the form of cell phone bans and restrictions on screen time in school. The problem is not that effective programs don't exist. The problem is America lacks a reliable bridge between research and scale--one that moves proven tools to millions of students and keeps unproven ones out of schools. Too many products reach schools because they are well marketed, easy to buy, or offered by familiar vendors, not because they have been shown to improve learning. Meanwhile, too many evidence-backed ideas remain stuck in universities, labs, pilot programs, or philanthropy-funded demonstrations without a viable path to the students who need them. America needs a research and development (R&D) ecosystem that can identify innovations that work, help them improve, and guide their adoption by their evidence of impact. Technology and private enterprise are already part of American education. The challenge is to build an evidence system that helps schools, funders, and policymakers distinguish what works from what sells.
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: ERIC
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2026
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: ED681624
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=ED681624
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 7
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Educational Technology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Free Enterprise System
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Technology Uses in Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research and Development
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Research
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Finance
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Theory Practice Relationship
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Federal Government
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Private Financial Support
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: The $30 Billion Question: Why Doesn't the Education Market Reward What Works?
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: American Enterprise Institute (AEI)
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Auditi Chakravarty
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Mark Schneider
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 06
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: American Enterprise Institute
              Type: main
ResultId 1