Since 2020, the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) has been surveying school stakeholders to understand their experiences with educational data and technology in classrooms. The number of edtech products and use cases has increased significantly, with many tools being implemented in K–12 schools across the United States. While these tools are often well-intended, they have led to unintended consequences such as privacy violations and negative impacts on students from historically marginalized communities.
To further investigate the effects of edtech tools both in classrooms and at home, CDT conducted a survey involving 1,028 parents of students in grades 6–12, 1,316 students in grades 9–12, and 1,006 teachers of grades 6–12. The survey aimed to gather opinions on student privacy, emerging technologies, parent engagement, school policies related to gender expansive students, content filtering and blocking software, student activity monitoring, and generative artificial intelligence (AI).
The report details definitions of various edtech issues as presented to survey respondents. Additional key terms are explained within the report's body on page 22. This research builds upon CDT’s extensive collection of quantitative and qualitative studies referenced on page 23. For more detailed information about the survey findings presented in this report, readers are encouraged to consult the comprehensive slide deck.
The full report is available for reading along with an exploration of the slide deck containing research findings.
