The State of the K-12 Supplemental Materials Market: 2024

Generative AI is becoming integrated in certain supplemental materials.

The publisher has estimated the size of the K-12 instructional supplemental materials market to be $4.62 billion in 2024 and is forecast to grow to $4.98 billion in 2026, representing a CAGR of 2.9% and increase its share of the total K-12 instructional materials market from 45.04% to 45.18%.

The report uncovers several reasons for the continued increase, including the vast amount to content available through simple internet searches the rise of Open Education Resources (OER) and a shift towards new teaching and learning best practices, such as engagement and inquiry-based learning, which often necessitate supplemental materials.

This report also examines definitions of supplemental material; various types and sources of resources; the size of the market by key subject areas: science, reading, math, and social studies; teachers’ practices and perspectives when using supplemental resources: when educators seek it; where do they search; and how they search and browse; downsides and drawbacks with supplemental materials, including issues around quality and alignment to standards; problems with virtual resource pools; the role of generative AI, and implications and opportunities for states, school districts, and educational publishers to assist teachers in locating appropriate supplemental materials.

The report provides an analysis of what teachers look for when choosing a supplemental resource based on the subject area; the problems with user ratings on unregulated supplementary websites like Teachers Pay Teachers; and opportunities for educational materials publishers to play a larger role in assisting schools and teachers in choosing supplemental materials.

This report covers major themes and elements impacting the supplemental materials market, including.:

• Digital instructional materials
• Open web resources
• Open Education Resources (OER)
• Engagement-based learning
• Inquiry-based learning
• NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards)
• Remote learning
• Market dynamics
• Teacher practices
• Material quality
• Curriculum alignment
• Political influences on education
• AI integration in supplemental materials
• Virtual resource collections

The State of the K-12 Supplemental Materials Market:2024 report also identified and profiles major educational material publishers and small innovators in the supplemental market. The major businesses profiled include:

• Boxlight
• Cengage
• Discovery Education
• Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Imagine Learning
• McGraw Hill
• Pearson
• Renaissance Learning
• Savvas
• Scholastic
• Stride Learning Solutions

Publishers and investment professionals can trust this report to provide the inside intelligence needed to evaluate the growth potential and understand the trends impacting the market for the K-12 supplemental instructional materials market. This report is an essential tool for publishing executives, M&A advisors, market analysts, and industry consultants who need to understand the larger trends and necessary business strategies when considering the supplemental materials instructional market.

Methodology

To research and compile this report, the publisher conducted a deep and comprehensive secondary search of a wide range of literature on teachers’ use of supplemental materials, including scholarly literature, trade literature, research institute reports, the open web, school materials, existing professional surveys and drew on the publisher’s own past surveys, research and analysis and market data projections from our knowledge center. We also conducted in-depth interviews to supplement our secondary research; subjects included educational publishers, professors, non-profit associations, educational experts and teachers.

Some of the basic descriptions and functions of supplementary materials that were outlined in the June 2022 K-12 Supplemental Materials Market and have not changed are included in this 2024 report; in addition to that unchanging information, the rest of the report has been fully updated for this edition.

Where do Supplemental Resources Come From?

While this report will provide a more detailed analysis of where (and how and why) teachers seek out supplementary materials, it is possible to initially identify at least nine different types of sources that make up the primary portion of the supplementary materials “universe.” In addition to supplemental resources that accompany core curricula materials from standard publishers, teachers also do their own research and use their contacts and creativity to find what they need if what they want is not available (or not obvious) from their core materials.

These are the places (or methods) available to teachers who choose to seek out and integrate this kind of resource into their classroom.

These key sources include:

• Virtual resource collections
• OER aggregation sites
• A Google search
• Social media sites
• Customized materials, created from scratch by the teacher
• Traditional educational publishers
• Nonprofit organizations
• Public broadcasters
• Other teachers