Add as a preferred source on Google

Increases in School Instructional Spending Are Largest in Six Years

  • 07/24/15

New proprietary school expenditure research from MDR shows U.S. K-12 public schools increased instructional spending by a remarkable 9% in the 2013-2014 school year. This dramatic increase pumped an additional $964 million into the school materials market compared to the prior year’s baseline spending on All Instructional Materials (AIM), an MDR data measure.

MDR EdNET Insight and Research Senior Director, Kathleen Brantley, noted that “AIM spending saw a significant drop in the years following the 2008 economic downturn. Between 2008 and 2013, U.S. public school spending on instructional materials decreased by $2 billion. Increased expenditures for the 2013-2014 year represent the first upturn in many years.”

“We know from experience with our own business as well as our clients’ that the market has been bouncing back,” said Steve Gatland, Vice President of Sales at MDR. “But our annual analysis of spending across U.S. public schools was even more profound than expected. The opportunities for our clients to see real growth are the best they’ve been in a decade. It is an exciting time for our schools and the companies and organizations who are helping students grow intellectually, emotionally, and socially.”

For the $11.8 billion educational materials market, this reversal in the spending trend indicates school districts are on much firmer financial footing to purchase instructional materials aligned to the Common Core Standards and assessment protocols and that are adapted to new instructional models, such as blended learning, flipped classrooms, and personalized learning.

Learn More
As the leading provider of education market insight and marketing solutions, MDR is uniquely positioned to identify emerging shifts in spending trends at the district level. See MDR’s School Spending Update infographic for public school expenditures for the 2013-2014 school year with both per student AIM and per student operational spending details. For more information, visit schooldata.com.

Featured

  • ALAS Announces 2025–26 Award Winners

    The Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS) recently announced the winners of its 2025–26 leadership awards, according to a news release. Winners will be recognized at the ALAS 22nd National Summit on Education, scheduled for Oct. 15–17 in Chicago, Ill.

  • Pudu Robotics Launches AI-Powered, Large-Scale Floor Sweeper

    Pudu Robotics recently launched the newest member of its MT1 series of robotic floor sweepers, the PUDU MT1 Max, according to a news release. The AI-powered, 3D perception robotic sweeper was designed for use in large, complex cleaning environments both indoors and semi-outdoors, like parking garages and semi-open building atriums.

  • Texas A&M Breaks Ground on Campus Visitor Center

    Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new campus learning hub and visitor center, according to a news release. The 211,000-square-foot Aplin Center will stand three stories and is scheduled to open to students in 2028.

  • How One School Reimagined Learning Spaces—and What Others Can Learn

    When Collegedale Academy, a PreK–8 school outside Chattanooga, Tenn., needed a new elementary building, we faced the choice that many school leaders eventually confront: repair an aging facility or reimagine what learning spaces could be. Our historic elementary school held decades of memories for families, including some who had once walked its halls as children themselves. But years of wear and the need for costly repairs made it clear that investing in the old building would only patch the problems rather than solve them.

Digital Edition