🛝 Homeschooling Surges 3x Faster, Early Reading Problems, EdTech Market Hits $25.6B

Welcome to Playground Post, a bi-weekly newsletter that keeps education innovators ahead of what's next.

This week's reality check: While public schools lose students at an accelerating pace, a new generation of parents isn't reading to their kids. Meanwhile, the global EdTech market just hit $25.6 billion and shows no signs of slowing down.

💎 Data Gem

As of late 2025, 60% of U.S. school districts still have no formal guidance or standards for Generative AI usage, according to EdSurge.

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Homeschooling Hits Record Numbers as Public Schools Shed Students

Homeschooling grew 5.4% in the 2024-2025 school year - nearly three times the pre-pandemic growth rate of around 2%.

More than a third of states reporting data hit their highest homeschooling numbers ever. The national homeschooling population now sits at about 6% of students, double the pre-pandemic 3%.

This isn't just pandemic hangover. 

Public school enrollment dropped 4.2% in Massachusetts since 2019 while homeschooling jumped 56%. Charter enrollment stayed flat due to regulatory caps.

If parents keep choosing alternatives at the current pace, traditional public schools could lose 8.5 million students by mid-century - shrinking from 43 million to as few as 34.5 million.

What's driving the exodus? 

Big numbers of parents felt during the pandemic that their preferences weren't priorities for educators. They also got front-row seats to remote learning quality and many weren't impressed.

The numbers back up parent frustration, only 41% of school parents say K-12 education is headed in the right direction - down from 48% in 2022. Fifty-nine percent say it's on the wrong track. 

Meanwhile, among all parents, homeschooling enjoys a 70% favorability rating.

States that saw brief declines in homeschooling post-pandemic have bounced back with double-digit growth. South Carolina led with 21.5% growth, while even traditionally strong public school states like Florida and Louisiana saw increases.

These numbers likely undercount the shift. Many homeschooling families don't register where it's not required, and several states don't count families using Education Savings Accounts for homeschooling expenses as homeschoolers.

A growing population of families is actively seeking alternatives that offer flexibility, customization, and educational approaches aligned with their values. Solutions that support homeschooling families - curriculum platforms, assessment tools, co-op management systems, and credentialing services - are serving an increasingly mainstream market rather than a fringe one.

Gen Z Parents Aren't Reading to Kids, and the Gap Starts in Kindergarten

Less than half of children between ages 0-4 are read to daily or nearly daily - down from 50% in 2019 and 56% in 2012, according to a 2025 HarperCollins survey.

About 20% of parents rarely or never read to their child between ages 0-2. That drops to 8% for ages 3-4, but the damage is done early.

A 2019 Ohio State study found 5-year-olds who are read to daily have been exposed to nearly 300,000 more words than those who aren't read to regularly.

Teachers see the gap on day one - some kindergarteners know two letters while others are ready to read phrases. And there's limited time to close that gap once kids enter school.

What's behind the decline? 

Many Gen Z parents - the first digital natives - experienced reading as a school or work activity during the No Child Left Behind era, not as pleasure.

"We went from fourth and sixth grade testing to every year - third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth," said Theresa Bouley, an education professor at Eastern Connecticut State University. "We started using less books, more programs, more skill and drill."

Those former students are now parents who may not see the value in reading to young children. And they're passing screen habits to the next generation. About 35% of parents say their biggest challenge is that children prefer screen time or won't sit long enough for books.

Educational apps aren't filling the gap. Until ages 5-6, children have trouble transferring learning from screens to real life. Games offer instant gratification while books require stamina and develop comprehension skills that colloquial, short-term game content can't match.

The opportunity gap widens from there. Children not read to at home enter school significantly behind, and intensive catch-up support isn't realistic given teachers' time constraints and class sizes.

Solutions that help parents understand the importance of early reading, make it easier to incorporate into busy schedules, or create engaging ways to build language skills outside traditional read-aloud sessions could address a critical need. 

The question is whether such solutions can reach families who have already deprioritized reading - and whether they can effectively replace the cognitive and social-emotional benefits of parent-child book time.

K-12 EdTech Market Reaches $25.6B, Projected to Hit $230B by 2034

The global K-12 education technology market hit $25.6 billion in 2024, growing at a 25.77% compound annual growth rate since 2019.

The market is expected to reach $77.25 billion by 2029 and $230.18 billion by 2034, maintaining a CAGR above 24%.

North America leads with 32.8% of the market ($8.39 billion), but the fastest growth is happening elsewhere. Asia Pacific is growing at 27.94% annually, and Africa at 25.15%.

Online learning dominates, accounting for 77.7% of the market ($19.89 billion). That segment is also growing fastest at 25.44% annually.

By education level, primary schools represent the largest opportunity at $7.77 billion and are expected to grow at 26.53% annually - faster than middle or high schools.

Educational gaming is the largest technology segment at $6.25 billion and growing at 27.21% annually. Software overall will gain $19.32 billion in global sales by 2029, making it the single biggest opportunity by product type.

The market remains fragmented with top 10 competitors making up just 21.68% of total market share in 2023, with Pearson Education leading at 5.43%.

Growth drivers include demand for personalized learning, AI and machine learning integration, gamified learning platforms, and government initiatives. The main barriers are high implementation costs, resistance to change from educators, and the persistent digital divide.

The report identifies key strategies for success: AI innovation, immersive STEM programs, expanding online solutions, and developing SaaS-based platforms.

For entrepreneurs and investors, the data reveals where capital is flowing and where gaps remain. The market is growing fast enough that multiple players can succeed, but the fragmentation suggests consolidation opportunities. 

The shift toward online delivery, AI-powered personalization, and gaming elements indicates where product development focus should be - while the implementation cost concerns point to a need for more affordable, easier-to-deploy solutions that don't require extensive technical support.

⚡️More Quick Hits

This week in education:

• New York cellphone ban survey shows results  -  92% of schools report smooth transition, 83% see better student engagement

• IDEA turns 50  -  How the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act transformed education over five decades

• AI saves Austin ISD time and money  -  District uses AI scheduling to save $2,600 per campus and 50+ hours of staff time

• EdTech outcomes questioned  -  After 2,739 education technology tools deployed, where are the measurable results?

🔎 Worth Checking Out

Monthly roundup of resources you might like:

• State of Computer Science 2025 — State-by-state tracking showing 32 states now require high schools to offer CS courses and 12 mandate CS for graduation.

• K-12 Lens 2025 — Report showing teacher shortages declining to 66% of districts (down from 81%), but persistent gaps remain in special education and substitute roles

• Universal Connectivity Imperative — Data on the "homework gap": 84% of students have school devices in class, but many districts no longer allow take-home access

• National AI in K-12 Survey — Full survey data showing declining public support for AI tools across multiple use cases.

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