The Delta Issue #53

50 EdTech tools in the classroom? Not for long.

2025 has been a boom year for artificial intelligence. With all the rapid investment in AI technology, you’d think 2025 would also be a boom year for edtech — but instead, Q1 was the worst quarter for venture funding since 2014.

Data shows that edtech investors are cutting bigger checks to fewer companies, suggesting that some big changes — and mergers — are on the horizon.

In July 2025, the average teacher reported using 50 different education apps and products in the classroom.

And the average school district? Nearly 3,000. That’s a ton of individual vendor contracts for districts to manage, and way too many tools to expect teachers to track.

The field is crowded and competition is stiff — and it’s about to get stiffer as budget cuts and federal funding uncertainty pressure districts to streamline and prioritize the essentials.

In the last month, two district leaders I’ve spoken to personally have both said they want to cut back their number of vendor contracts. Many districts are eager to see vendors bundle high-quality products and services. One leader literally said to me, “I cannot keep buying all these products anymore. I need one product to do everything.”

Here’s what we’ve been advising vendors to do as they think about their next move.

Prioritize the teacher and student experience.

Great edtech tools make life better for students and the adults who support them. Too often, companies design only with students in mind, forgetting that teachers, principals, and district leaders all determine whether a product ever reaches the classroom in the first place. This sequence is the implementation chain, and it’s critical for vendors to understand how it works. Read our earlier Delta on what it looks like in practice.

The best tools improve student outcomes while reducing friction for teachers. For example, a literacy screener shouldn’t leave a teacher to figure out how results connect to an intervention—it should make that connection automatically.

When teachers see clear value, they use the product consistently and advocate for it with administrators, creating momentum up the chain. Students’ experiences only change if every adult along the way can engage with the tool in a way that makes their work easier, not harder. By designing with both teacher and student experiences in mind—and by anticipating how each link in the chain interacts with your product—you set the stage for real classroom impact.

Be ready to prove that your tools are working in real life.

When we talk with our vendor clients about proving what works, here are the questions we make sure they’re prepared to answer:

Do you know how and how much kids have to use your product to see measurable results? The goal is to ensure that product use is meaningfully linked to student outcomes, and usage drives those outcomes.

Are kids actually using your product in the way you envisioned? Giving kids enough time with a product to make a difference and using it as intended is one of the hardest things to get right in a classroom setting, and one of the most important. As a vendor, you need to know whether kids and teachers are using your product enough to realize the results you’ve promised.

Is the tool measurably improving student learning? Being able to show — via statewide assessment data — that your product has contributed to improved student learning is the holy grail of proving efficacy, and you need solid answers to the questions about evidence and volume to do it with certainty.

In a crowded market, the companies that survive won’t necessarily be the flashiest — they’ll be the ones that consistently deliver value that teachers can’t live without.

Pick partners that will help you streamline the experience for teachers and kids.

If you’re considering a merger, start with two questions. First: What do we lack that would make our offering stronger? If you have a curriculum but no assessment, for example, a merger or partnership with an assessment provider may be the right move. The best partnerships round out what you can deliver so districts, teachers, and students get a more complete solution.

Second: Can your products be sold together in a way that makes implementation easier for everyone and ultimately improves student outcomes?

Picking a partner is not just about which products work together conceptually (a curriculum and a professional development product, for example), but going a level deeper. Which products have complementary interfaces, sales and distribution models, and onboarding and training? How is implementation monitored and supported?

Look for products that, when combined with yours, will make life easier for teachers and will help kids learn more.