K-12 Publishers Adapt to Changing Demand in Schools

The old way of doing business—having the large textbook publishers make their moves in major adoptions, followed by supplemental publishers coming in to fill in specific gaps—has given way.

Now, there are fewer adoptions with a greater variety of resources from a greater number of participating providers. While the biggest players and their multi-part basal solutions still determine the directional success of the industry as a whole because of their size, demand is changing in the schools and strategies are shifting among the publishers.

In the now available PreK-12 Instructional Materials Industry Competitive Analysis, 2018, Simba Information briefly examines the overall PreK-12 school market landscape and details strategies companies are employing to meet the challenges and opportunities in the marketplace.

The increasing availability of technology devices and networks in schools has allowed teachers to expand their arsenal of resources for any lesson to be able to meet students at their different interest and ability levels. One of the noticeable features of the demand for instructional materials in the PreK-12 market in recent years has been the strengthening of the preference among educators for access to a variety of instructional resources.

Publishers are approaching changes in the market in different ways. For smaller publishers, mergers and acquisitions can open new channels into schools or new topical areas of opportunity. Divestitures have been on the docket for larger publishers, such as Pearson and McGraw-Hill Education, who are concentrating their focus and investment.

Startups provide an eye into future directions in education. They exemplify where innovators think there are solvable problems in education and where investors think viable solutions actually might take hold.

PreK-12 Instructional Materials Industry Competitive Analysis, 2018 includes detailed strategic profiles of 13 leading core basal and supplemental publishers in the PreK-12 market. Profile data included key executives, company overview, K-12 publishing strategy, and financial summary.