2022 National Instructional Materials Adoption Scorecard and 2023 Outlook

Report Overview

Simba Information’s latest 2022 National Instructional Materials Adoption Scorecard and 2023 Outlook, finds that states are pursuing a range of tools to address student performance and learning loss. These include legislation, new education policies and strategies, and the overhaul of curricula, instructional materials, and teaching methods. In prior years the adoption process of public-school instructional materials was generally conducted as a procurement decision with limited involvement from state education administrators and executives; in 2022, however, states broadened their inputs into textbook adoption decisions.

 

The 2022 National Instructional Materials Adoption Scorecard and 2023 Outlook uncovered several notable insights from its analysis of the adoption marketplace. Key findings include: student proficiency in math and reading continue to lag, states are investing in public education system reform with new legislation mandates, legislation is reaching deeper into instruction and instructional materials, states are developing new instructional frameworks and standards, and several states are developing stand-alone initiatives to address significant problem areas like literacy and numeracy. The 2022-2023 adoption cycle was not a boom year.

Savvas and McGraw Hill continue to lead in the market with significant performance in several adoptions. As states modernize and overhaul their standards, the door opens for new, agile competitors; those brands can respond to changing courses of study and standards. The growth of civics, civics literacy, economics, financial literacy, and personal finance education adds adoption opportunities for specialized players.

Simba Information’s 2022 National Instructional Materials Adoption Scorecard and 2023 Outlook details the trends impacting the public-school instructional materials adoption process, state developments in legislation that impacts education, state education strategies and policies, the current state adoption schedule, and upcoming state-level evaluations and adoptions. The data and findings are based on Simba’s internal research and analysis of official data drawn from a wide range of expert timely sources, covering the state adoptions that took place in the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 academic years. Research sources employed include education, business, and general press databases; federal and state government statistics, and information and data gathered from state departments of education agencies; along with interviews with education professionals.

2022 National Instructional Materials Adoption Scorecard and 2023 Outlook covers the following major categories outlining and impacting the market:

• Market Environment

• Adoption State Dynamics

• Market Drivers

• 2022-2023 State Adoption Year Results

• Marketplace Results

• Adoption Scorecard

• 2023 Adoption Year and Beyond

2022 National Instructional Materials Adoption Scorecard and 2023 Outlook contains detailed and granular data and analysis on key trends and developments with a special focus on:

• Analysis of Overall Marketplace Trends

• State Legislative Developments

• State Education Strategies and Policies

• Current State Adoptions

• Upcoming State-Level Evaluations

• Upcoming State-Level Adoptions

Publishers and investment professionals can trust Simba Information's 2022 National Instructional Materials Adoption Scorecard and 2023 Outlook to provide the inside intelligence needed to evaluate the changes and needs effecting the products, sales, segment, and marketing of public-school instructional materials adoption materials.

2022 National Instructional Materials Adoption Scorecard and 2023 Outlook is an essential tool for publishing executives, market analysts, and industry consultants who need to understand the current drivers impacting state public-school instructional materials adoption both recent past, present, and forecast into the next few years.

Simba has the knowledge base and perspective gained from more than 20 years’ covering this market and the rapid changes in technology, the economy, mergers, partnerships, and public policy that affect it.

Market Environment

Background

Two distinct segments comprise the instructional materials market – adoption states (where textbook decisions are centralized at the state level) and open territories (where schools purchase educational materials independently). Each segment is estimated to represent about half of the total instructional materials market.

The two segments are clustered in geographic regions. The adoption states are located in the South, the Southwest and the West. The open territories are centered in the Northeast, the Midwest, and parts of the Northwest.

Market Scale

The largest states in the country are adoption states, and they represent a significant potential revenue stream; this includes the substantial markets of California, Texas, and Florida. Further, many adoption states in the South and Southwest – especially Florida, Texas, and states in the Southeast – are showing significant population growth.

The adoption states tend to follow systematic adoption cycles and purchase processes that allow publishers to bid and/or plan ahead for future bids. Products can be used throughout a state’s schools over an extended period.

Selling products to adoption states can be complex and time-consuming, but the segment offers potential economies of scale in the creation, marketing, and selling sales of instructional materials.

Market Impact

When major adoption states like Florida or Texas consider curricula in reading or math, their scale often has an outsized effect on the overall market, which sees a lift in the purchasing year and those that follow.

Instructional materials that pass the evaluation process of an adoption state can raise the profile of the publisher, generate awareness, and build purchase interest among smaller adoption states and in open territories.