Blog entry with links here: http://www.reachcap.com/blog/post/2016-edtech-outlook
It’s hard to believe it’s been three years since we published our first ReimaginED report. When we first drafted ReimaginED, we set out to expose systemic challenges in our nation’s K-12 education system and to highlight some of the innovative solutions edtech entrepreneurs were developing to address these challenges. In last year’s report, we showcased ways technology could help our school system become an escalator to opportunity for all.
A lot has changed in three years, including our spinout from NewSchools to Reach Capital. Edtech investment has hit an all time high with a variety of new funders entering the space. As the market begins to mature, global edtech brands are emerging with solutions that are improving educational outcomes and serving millions of students, teachers, and families.
Even with these changes, however, a lot remains the same. The escalator to social mobility remains broken with unequal access to quality education. Meeting individual student needs is still a challenge and grows more pressing as children in US public schools are more diverse than ever. Moreover, our education system is not designed to prepare children for the demands of today's knowledge economy. We're still stuck in a system that is largely manufacturing-based, which falls short on important skills such as coding, creativity, and synthesis. All these challenges and more have led to increasing demands on teachers as both their role and their responsibilities evolve, with little to no support in the transition.
This year’s publication, rebranded as “Reach Capital’s 2016 Edtech Outlook”, touches on these persisting challenges, while also highlighting key drivers that make us optimistic about the potential of technology to improve access and opportunity for kids. This year, our publication is not a roundup of everything in K-12 edtech, but rather our perspective on the challenges,opportunities and promising solutions in the space that we find most compelling. If you're looking for a full report on the state of K-12 edtech, our friends at Edsurge in partnership with AT&T Aspire have recently published a state of edtech report and we encourage you to check it out.
Given our unique vantage point, we also provide a peek “around the corner” into emerging solutions that align with our mission. We continue to see a need for more innovations in critical areas like English Language Learner instruction and Social Emotional Learning. We look forward to finding and supporting talented, mission-driven entrepreneurs innovating in these and other areas that will improve access and opportunity for kids.
Thank you to co-authors Chian Gong, Aditya Kaddu, and Jennifer Wu as well as the entire Reach team for their guidance and feedback.
3. Outline
Challenges
• Unequal access to quality education
• Varied student needs
• New demands for life and career success
• Demands on teachers
Drivers
Around the Corner
Engage
4. CHALLENGES | Unequal access
Students in the wealthiest districts are four grade
levels ahead of those in poorest districts
Academicachievement
Family income level
Source: Reardon, 2016
5. CHALLENGES | Unequal access
High-income families invest in their kids like never before
Source: Russell Sage Foundation, 2012
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
Spendingindollars
1972 to 1973 1983 to 1984 1994 to 1995 2005 to 2006
Bottom quintile Top quintile
High-income families spend 7x more on enrichment than low-income families
6. CHALLENGES | Unequal access
College completion gap between income levels is widening
Bachelor's Attainment by Family Income
1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
6%
11%
15%
40%
77%
34%
17%
9%
Source : Pell Institute, 2015
Top Quartile
Third Quartile
Second Quartile
Bottom Quartile
7. CHALLENGES | Varied student needs
Children in US public schools are more diverse than ever
Increasing racial diversity Growing English Learner population
Projected 2023 K12 population of public school students
projected to be ELL by 2025
30%
Hispanic
45%
White
25%25%
Other
races*
*Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, Two or more
races, Native American
Differing starting lines
Kinder readiness largely
correlated with income level
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Poor
Near-Poor
Moderate or High Income
Schoolreadiness
Sources: Brookings, 2012; NCES, IES, U.S. Department of Education, 2016; Education Week, 2014; National Education Association, 2008
8. CHALLENGES | New demands for life and career success
Workforce shifts from manufacturing toward creative and service
Percentage of Workforce
1900
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
’20 ’40 ’60 ’80 2000 ’20
Service
Creative
Manufacturing
Agriculture
Projections
Source: Florida, 2012
9. CHALLENGES | New demands for life and career success
Are we preparing kids for success in the new economy?
Top 10 Skills Needed in 2020
Complex Problem
Solving
Critical
Thinking
Creativity People
Management
Coordinating
with Others
Emotional
Intelligence
Judgment &
Decision Making
Service
Orientation
Negotiation Cognitive
Flexibility
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10
Source: World Economic Forum, 2016
10. New assessments
critical-thinking, problem-
solving, analytical skills
New questions
collaborative problem
solving
New format
reflective of high school and
college learning, “inspires
productive practice”
Redesign in progress
discipline-specific inquiry,
reasoning, communication
CHALLENGES | New demands for life and career success
Rethinking assessments
Sources: Common Core State Standards Initiative; OECD, 2015; Advances in AP; College Board
11. 0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
Architecture and
Engineering
Computer Science and
Mathematics
Life Sciences Physical Sciences Social Sciences
BS, MS, and PhD degrees granted in 2009 Annual jobs 2010-2020
CHALLENGES | New demands for life and career success
Demand outpaces supply for computer science degrees
Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics; National Science Foundation, 2012, LinkedIn, 2014
12. CHALLENGES | Demands on teachers
Teacher shortage in high-demand areas
Obama calls for 100,000 STEM
teachers in 10 years
STEM
50%
of urban school districts project
shortage of bilingual teachers
Bilingual
51%
of all schools have difficulty
recruiting SPED teachers
Special ED
100K
Sources: Council of the Great City Schools, 2013; The White House, 2011; U.S. Department of Education, 2011
13. CHALLENGES | Demands on teachers
Teaching is evolving quickly, while PD and support are slow to follow
15. DRIVERS | Technology infrastructure in schools
School connectivity is improving
99%of students promised access by 2018
through Obama’s ConnectED
77%of US districts have access
to high speed broadband
Source: EducationSuperHighway, 2015
But…
Current “high speed” target of 100kbps/student may
be insufficient for effective technology use in schools
16. DRIVERS | Technology infrastructure in schools
Students have greater access to devices at school
1 in 5
schools have 1:1 device
to student ratio
83%
of students reported using
a laptop for schoolwork in 2015
Sources: Pearson, 2015; Amplify, 2014
17. DRIVERS | Technology infrastructure in schools
Students are mobile natives
82%
of high school students
regularly use smartphones
Source: Pearson, 2015;
18. DRIVERS | Technology use in schools
Google-ization of schools
Source: Clarity Innovations, 2014; Futuresource Consulting 2015
Google Apps for Education Users Worldwide
2007 2014
0
10
20
30
40
Usersinmillions
51%
of devices sold to schools in
Q4’15 were Chromebooks
Google Apps for Education
Classroom Gmail Drive Calendar Vault
Docs Sheets Slides Sites Hangouts
19. DRIVERS | Technology use in schools
Every Student Succeeds Act provides unprecedented funding
Up to 15% on tech
infrastructure
x yrs~ $1B 4
85% R&D,
PD & software
Source: eSchoolNews, 2015
20. DRIVERS | K-12 computer science
Computer science becomes national priority
We should…[offer] every
student the hands-on
computer science and
math classes that make
them job-ready on day
one…
- Barack Obama,
2016 SOTU Address
• Computer science recognized as a core
subject in the Every Student Succeeds Act
• Receives same priority as Math and English
Math
Science
English
Computer
Science
Source: EdTech Focus On K-12, 2015
21. DRIVERS | Innovation and investment in new school models
Student agency and personalized learning are
gaining momentum
22. DRIVERS | VC investment in edtech
US K-12 edtech funding reached an all-time high
2010
$0
$200M
$400M
$600M
$800M
$1.0B
InvestmentinK-12edtech
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Source: Edsurge, 2016
23. CONCERNS
However, K-12 edtech still has many challenges
Sources: Edsurge
Regulatory
Data privacy, state standards, and
reporting requirements all
shape the landscape
Operational
Procurement and interoperability of
edtech are unsolved
25. Our Vision
Given the unprecedented investment in K12 technology
infrastructure, school model innovation and edtech
Reach believes technology can play a role in increasing access to
high quality education, addressing diverse student needs, and
preparing students for life and career success.
26. AROUND THE CORNER | Engaging all families in early learning
Parents stay connected to preschool and
support learning at home
27. AROUND THE CORNER | A live tutor for every student
Low or no-cost tutoring and homework help
Then
High-cost, in-person,
limited access
Now
Low-cost, remote,
accessible
28. AROUND THE CORNER | Immersive experiences beyond classroom walls
Virtual reality exposes students to the world
outside of their own classroom and community
VR brings to life a number of experiences that otherwise are really difficult to feature
in the classroom. You can go places and see unknown phenomena, you can conduct
experiments and see how things evolved.
- Felipe Sommer, Nearpod
Then
Geographically constrained
Now
Geographically and physically unbounded
29. AROUND THE CORNER | Kids as creators not consumers
Connected toys spur curiosity and build STEM skills through play
Then
Static, generic, hardware
or software
Now
Dynamic, customizable, combined software
and hardware
30. AROUND THE CORNER | Student collaboration anytime, anywhere
Students learn from each other and co-create projects
across boundaries
31. Then
Isolated, teacher-only audience
Now
Connected, real world audience
AROUND THE CORNER | Students publish to real audiences
Students motivated by purposeful writing
that extends beyond the classroom
Senator Carol Liu
32. AROUND THE CORNER | Connecting classrooms and workplaces
Professionals around the globe help students connect classroom learning
with real-world applications
33. AROUND THE CORNER | Build social capital
Create meaningful relationships between students & mentors, at scale
Then
Disconnected, isolated
Now
Connected, supported, integrated
34. Then
Superficial, limited insight
Now
Insightful, actionable
AROUND THE CORNER | Continuous pulse on student learning
Realtime checks for understanding enable immediate intervention
Do you
understand?
36. AROUND THE CORNER | Integrated support for English learners
Schools systematically support English language development
across classrooms
37. AROUND THE CORNER | Schools support social emotional learning
Technology tools help to integrate social emotional learning
into teaching practices
38. Then
Top-down, one-size fits all
Now
Differentiated, personal, virtual
coaches
AROUND THE CORNER | Responsive and personalized professional development
Teachers have a voice and receive differentiated and personal support
40. ENGAGE with Reach
Join in!
Submit Your CompanyFollow Us
http://reachcap.com/
@reachfund
http://reachcap.com/blog
http://reachcap.com/contact
41. Reach Capital is on a mission to provide
opportunity and access to all students by
funding the most inspirational, uplifting
and engaging educational tools.