SPA Issues Education Market Report

Report Examines Computer Usage in the United States and Canada, Public and Private Schools, K-12 and Higher Education

Based on surveys by 42 different organizations of U.S. and Canadian school districts, the report provides school administrators and technology program planners with comprehensive information about educational technology trends, including:

• Approximately 25 percent of all K-12 courses, affecting 10 million K-12 students in the United States, have integrated technology into the curriculum.
• In the 1993-1994 school year, $565 million was spent in the United States on instructional software and almost $1 billion was spent on all technology-based products.
• The estimate of the 1995 installed base of computers in schools exceeds 5.5 million computers.
• The student-to-computer ratio continues to decrease to approximately one computer for every nine students; however, more than 50 percent of the computers are out-of-date and cannot be used to access the Internet. The student-to-computer ratio is approximately the same in the United States and Canada.
• Only moderate differences were noted in demographics (wealth, size, discretionary funds) when school districts were compared on the level of computer and other technology ownership.
• Although local, state and federal funds continue to be available to help fund purchases of hardware, software and other educational technologies, it is anticipated that Congress will sharply cut educational technology-related funding this year leaving states and local school districts to fill the void, if at all.
• Most U.S. higher education institutions reported they continue to buy equipment without an institutional plan for amortizing the costs of computers and technology resources.
• Interest in networks, modems and the Internet is increasing as schools expand their telecommunication services.
• Personal computers, educational software and other technologies are migrating out of the school computer lab and into classroom curricula.
• Although there is a national movement to site-based management, a wide variety of school district personnel are still making decisions about technology purchases.
• Schools are increasing their inventories of multimedia computers and computers with fast processors. Schools are beginning to retire Apple II computers.
• Nearly one-third of all students and teachers have computers at home.

"Although the 'K-12 Educational Market Report' demonstrates increasing use of educational technologies in U.S. and Canadian schools, the report also provides information about several roadblocks to effectively incorporating technology into the nation's schools," said Ken Wasch, SPA president. "SPA would like to challenge the nation to find creative ways to bring this essential learning tool, technology and the content that comes with it, seamlessly to the learner and educator."

SPA members who contributed to the report include: CCA Consulting Inc., Curriculum Administrator, Education TURNKEY Systems Inc., EDUCORP Consultants Corp., Interactive Educational Systems Design Inc., Market Data Retrieval, Microsoft Corp., Peter Li Education Group, Quality Education Data Inc., Scholastic Inc. and Electronic Learning; SIMBA Information Inc., Software Publishers Association, T.H.E. Journal and Anne Wujcik & Associates. The report was compiled for SPA by C. Blohm and Associates of San Antonio, Texas.

The Education Market Report is free to press. SPA is making the report available to education professionals as a planning tool for $125 and to all others for $250. To order a copy of the report send an e-mail to smeadows@spa.org or call the Software Publishers Association at (202)-452-1600.