Statement in Response to US Department of Education Guidance on Responsible Use of Education Technology

Today, the US Department of Education released new guidance on the responsible use of education technology in the classroom. The guidance comes as Curriculum Associates continues to advance its longstanding commitment to evidence-based instructional technology that supports teachers, minimizes unnecessary screen time, and improves student outcomes. In response, Curriculum Associates issued the following statement: 

Curriculum Associates welcomes the US Department of Education’s new guidance on the responsible use of educational technology in the classroom. We strongly agree with the Department’s central messages: technology should strengthen great teaching, not replace it, and instructional tools should have a clear purpose and evidence base, be used intentionally and appropriately under a teacher’s direction, and lead to meaningful student outcomes.

The guidance rightly emphasizes the importance of evidence, educator judgment, thoughtful implementation, transparency, and state and local decision making on this important topic. Moreover, it emphasizes the need to minimize unnecessary screen time so that children can remain focused on learning from their peers and educators. These principles have always been central to how Curriculum Associates has designed and supported i-Ready.

We also appreciate the Department’s emphasis on accountability and implementation. Education technology providers should not simply ask schools to trust that a product works; providers like CA should continually demonstrate their impact through rigorous research, independent evaluation, transparent reporting, and close partnership with educators and districts. A portfolio of evidence pointing to impact is prerequisite, but it is not enough. It also must be paired with a clear focus on implementation and teacher training, helping make sure that tools are thoughtfully designed and launched to fit into teachers’ instructional practice. That commitment to efficacy and continuous improvement has been foundational to Curriculum Associates’ work for decades, and we look forward to continuing to advance it.

About Curriculum Associates

Curriculum Associates is a mission-driven company dedicated to making Grades K–12 classrooms better for more than 17 million students and one million educators nationwide. The company's connected suite of i-Ready^® solutions unites adaptive assessment, personalized instruction, and core curriculum in English language arts and mathematics—supported by expert professional learning and service teams—alongside Ellevation for multilingual learners and Stile Education^® for middle school science. Through its innovation hub, AI Labs, Curriculum Associates designs forward-looking technologies educators can trust. The company measures success by the impact it makes on student outcomes and is honored to support the extraordinary work of teachers every day.

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