Conflicted Digital Adoption: Educational Resources in U.S. K-12 Education, 2024

This is the fifth report in a series tracking curricula discovery, selection, and adoption processes in U.S. K-12 education. The series has followed the awareness and use of OER materials in classrooms through the global COVID-19 pandemic and its sudden onset of remote learning, and the post-pandemic return to in-person instruction in the classroom. This survey was conducted in April 2024, with a total of 1,377 teachers and 206 administrators participating. The respondents come from 48 states and the District of Columbia. The key takeaways from this year's survey are: (1) One third of K-12 teachers are aware of open educational resources (OER), the highest level since we started measuring in 2018-19. A similar percentage of teachers report using OER materials this year as either required or supplemental materials; (2) The proportion of teachers reporting any type of instruction that wasn't in-person has remained constant in the post-pandemic era, at around 10% (3) Most teachers report that they use a required textbook, and these textbooks are offered to students in both print and digital formats. Digital-only offerings are more common in higher grades, while print-only offerings are more common in lower grades. However, more than 50% of teachers across all grades offer textbooks in both formats; and (4) Opinions on print vs. digital materials remain conflicted as the use of digital materials grows. More than half of teachers believe students learn better from print, but an even greater number believe digital materials offer greater flexibility for students.