PowerSchool examines national survey data from K-12 educators to uncover the educator and students demand for personalized education experiences, the trending perceptions of AI and more, ahead of the new school year

PowerSchool (NYSE: PWSC), the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education in North America, has released the key findings from the 2024 Education Focus Report for the 2024-2025 school year. The report offers an in-depth analysis of the key challenges and innovations currently shaping the U.S. education landscape going into the 2024-2025 school year. Drawing from a national survey of 1,620 educators, alongside 12 focus groups and 12 interviews engaging over 75 district leaders, teachers, parents, and students, the report provides critical insights into the evolving needs and priorities of the education community.

“The U.S. education system is currently balancing two critical goals: tackling urgent challenges while innovating the student learning experience,” said Ryan Imbriale, former district leader and Vice President and Head of Worldwide Education at PowerSchool. “Leaders are grappling with persistent attendance and behavior issues, yet they are equally eager to revolutionize assessment design, democratize data insights, and leverage AI to enhance operational efficiency and personalize learning. It’s a complex balancing act, addressing immediate needs while boldly shaping the future of education.”

Key Findings of the 2024 Education Focus Report:

Personalized Learning Drives Student Success

The report highlights the demand for personalized learning approaches from students, parents, and teachers, emphasizing the need to tailor education to individual student strengths, needs, and interests. While competency and mastery-based models show promise, widespread adoption remains limited. Findings showed changing traditional beliefs about what education looks like is the number one hurdle to adopting more personalized learning systems.

Embracing AI in Education

The exploration of artificial intelligence (AI) in education is growing, with 70% of district leaders now seeing its potential to enhance teaching and learning, up from 53% in 2023.

"Our superintendent and teachers are using AI for administrative tasks,” said Dr. Christine Diggs, Chief Technology Officer of Albemarle County Schools. “Our learning technology team has partnered with our instruction team to publish AI guidelines for the school division. We’re also developing professional development for teachers on using AI with students.”

Bold Leadership and Data Utilization Are Top Priorities

Effective leadership is crucial for building trust and driving change. The report underscores the importance of using data to gain a holistic understanding of students, with district leaders naming whole child analytics and data integration as a service as top priorities.

PowerSchool also explored leadership in a time of changing budgets. Education leaders shared that sometimes they must say "no" to certain investments or initiatives to prioritize impact for students and eliminate processes that don’t deliver. Among the top items to taper off or cut back, high on the list were staffing positions, purchasing new hardware devices, and tutoring programs. Software to streamline operational processes landed low on the "consolidate or stop entirely" list.

Evolving Education Workforce

The education workforce is undergoing significant changes, with new teachers seeking better work/life balance, professional development, and intuitive technology. Addressing vacancies, offering flexible development opportunities, and reducing workloads are key strategies to sustain the teaching profession.

Teachers named the top three things adding to their workloads that must be addressed for the profession to be more sustainable: Disruptive student behavior/crisis response, student intervention planning, and parent communication and engagement.

Strengthening School-Home Connections

Enhancing communication and engagement between schools and homes is vital for student success. The survey found that 87% say a “single pane of glass” solution that consolidates information would help improve communication between school and home. Simplified communication channels and engaging learning experiences are essential for improving attendance and family involvement.

The 2024 Education Focus Report was shaped in partnership with 18 education leaders – representing technology, teaching and learning, data, talent, and more – who comprise PowerSchool’s Education Insights Advisors Group. The report also includes PowerSchool’s top commitments and actions to help make education technology more personalized, secure and to help support engagement and informed decision-making.

To learn more about what PowerSchool heard from educators and what the future of education holds, visit https://www.powerschool.com/edtech-focus-report-2024/.

About PowerSchool

PowerSchool (NYSE: PWSC) is the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education in North America. Its mission is to empower educators, administrators, and families to ensure personalized education for every student journey. PowerSchool offers end-to-end product clouds that connect the central office to the classroom to the home with award-winning products including Schoology Learning and Naviance CCLR, so school districts can securely manage student data, enrollment, attendance, grades, instruction, assessments, human resources, talent, professional development, special education, data analytics and insights, communications, and college and career readiness. PowerSchool supports over 55 million students in more than 90 countries and over 17,000 customers, including more than 90 of the top 100 districts by student enrollment in the United States. Learn more at www.powerschool.com.

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