Do you feel like you’re asked to stretch your budget further and further every year? On top of that, measuring Return on Investment (ROI) for classroom products and technology is far from simple. Teachers use tools differently, outcomes can be inconsistent, and you’re left trying to piece together whether the investment was worth it.
How can you really know what led to increased student outcomes? And at what cost?
Understanding ROI in education technology
With shrinking budgets and rising expectations, you need a clear picture of which edtech tools deliver results (and which ones simply drain your resources). ROI in a school setting isn’t just about dollars. It’s about time, efficiency, and ultimately, student learning.
That’s why it’s essential to evaluate your digital investments to see what offers the strongest return. The right solution can help maximize your school budget, reduce hidden costs, and provide long-term school savings while still improving student learning outcomes.
Evidence-based edtech reduces procurement risk
You know the stakes are high. Purchasing the wrong product doesn’t just waste money—it costs your teachers’ time and your students’ learning opportunities.
ExploreLearning reduces that risk. Our solutions are backed by rigorous efficacy research, ensuring that every purchase is an investment with measurable returns. For districts operating in a tight edtech budget environment, this confidence makes procurement safer and more strategic.
Built-in support cuts professional development costs
Many programs look affordable at first, but require costly professional development. Add up subs, travel, and training days, and you may be spending hundreds of dollars per teacher beyond the initial license.
With ExploreLearning, you don’t have to worry about hidden costs. Our products include embedded guidance, intuitive teacher dashboards, and just-in-time support. Extensive professional development options can also reduce external PD, lowering ongoing costs for your district in the long run. Even saving $500 per teacher annually in professional development adds up to significant school savings across your staff.
Time-saving tools lower instructional labor costs
You’ve likely seen this happen: teachers implement new instructional materials, but instead of saving time, they spend more time learning how to properly use new tools.
A RAND study found that teachers adopting new materials often spend an extra 30 minutes per week planning. Half an hour may seem insignificant today, but over time, the hidden costs add up.
30 minutes/week x 36 school weeks = 1,080 minutes = 18 hours
$40 (average teacher rate including benefits) x 18 hours = $720
$720 x 100 teachers = $72,000 in labor costs
ExploreLearning’s math and science programs meet teachers in their day-to-day classroom realities. Our STEM solutions are designed to save time while supporting high-quality instruction. Teachers report that our solutions reduce planning demands with ready-to-use lessons, scaffolded student experiences, and intuitive design.
- 100% of teachers agreed that Reflex is an easy tool for math fact fluency. Teachers found that Reflex saved classroom time while improving student engagement, motivation, and confidence.
- In an end-of-year survey, teachers reported that Gizmos simulations were easy to use, made planning easier, and helped them achieve their teaching goals.
- When it comes to fractions, 99.7% of teachers saw improvements in student learning and engagement because of Frax, with 87% of these teachers saying that Frax was better than any other program or tool they used to teach fractions in the past.
Flexible curriculum reduces the need for multiple programs
Many districts purchase multiple overlapping programs to address differentiation, remediation, and enrichment. This layered spending strains a school budget.
ExploreLearning products offer multiple instructional functions within a single platform, reducing the need to buy, train, and maintain separate tools. By consolidating needs into fewer programs, you can cut spending, reduce training time, and keep your teachers focused rather than juggling multiple logins.
Student engagement minimizes classroom management time
Engaged students stay on task, which means teachers spend less time redirecting and more time advancing learning. Anyone who’s managed a classroom knows that reclaimed instructional time is priceless.
Consider precious classroom time as a form of “behavioral ROI.” Teachers consistently report that Reflex, Frax, and Gizmos spark and maintain students’ attention, leading to more meaningful STEM learning and decreased off-task behavior. Instructional time gained is another way your investments can deliver ROI.
Faster instruction frees time for differentiation or extension
Your teachers’ time is limited, and too often, it’s spent reteaching. Smart edtech investments should empower teachers to do what they do best while offering support in areas that are not possible in a traditional classroom setting, such as simultaneously providing differentiated feedback to all learners or auto-grading assignments.
Teachers report that Gizmos, Reflex, Frax, and Science4Us help students understand complex concepts more quickly and independently, reducing the need for repeated review or remediation. And that time adds up quickly. If a teacher saves just 10 minutes a day across the school year, that’s more than 30 hours of instructional time regained per year. At the school or district level, this leads to systematic savings and time that you can redirect toward differentiation or enrichment without additional staffing or programs.
Student proficiency reduces intervention cost
When students fall behind, you face the cost of tutoring, summer school, or added intervention staff. But what if fewer students needed those supports in the first place? Even reducing the number of students requiring Tier 2 or 3 intervention by just 10% can save your district thousands of dollars per year in program costs, resulting in funding you can reallocate to other pressing priorities.
ExploreLearning’s solutions lead to proven gains in student proficiency in math and science. Research shows that our math and science products have a positive impact on students of all levels, but particularly on those at high risk for academic failure.
A two-year longitudinal study examined a cohort of 800+ students in a large, suburban school district. 78% of students were economically disadvantaged, and all students scored two or more years below grade level in math at the start of 2nd grade. When students used both Reflex and Frax, they were 2.5x more likely to meet or exceed on-grade level math proficiency by the end of 3rd grade (40%) compared to non-users (16%).
Faster time-to-impact accelerates value
You don’t have semesters to wait before knowing if a tool is effective. The sooner you see results, the sooner you can justify an investment or explore alternatives.
ExploreLearning’s tools begin making an impact in weeks. That faster return means schools see measurable progress sooner, increasing the value of every instructional dollar. During a free Reflex trial, grade 3-7 teachers in Concho, Arizona, experienced school-wide math fact fluency growth in less than three weeks.
Maximize your edtech investment with ExploreLearning solutions
Every dollar in your edtech budget has to work harder than ever. ExploreLearning’s solutions are designed to maximize your investment by cutting PD expenses, saving teachers time, consolidating curriculum needs, and accelerating student learning gains with engaging platforms.
With Reflex, Frax, Gizmos, and Science4Us, you can unlock savings while delivering stronger outcomes.
Are you ready to maximize your edtech investments? Contact us to learn how ExploreLearning solutions can deliver ROI that makes a difference for your staff and students.