K-12 Supplemental Materials Market


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Supplemental Materials Long Abstract

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The State of the K-12 Supplemental Materials Market: 2022

Simba has estimated the size of the K-12 instructional supplemental materials market to be $3.8 billion in 2020 and is forecast to grow to $4.6 billion in 2024, representing a CAGR of 5.3% and an increase in the share of the total K-12 instructional materials market from 43.9% to 45.7%. This is one of the highlights of Simba’s just released report, The State of the K-12 Supplemental Materials Market: 2022.

What this Report Covers

In addition to examining and determining market size and structure, the report also examines: definitions of supplemental material; various types and sources of resources; size of market by key subject areas: science, reading, math, and social studies; teachers’ practices and perspectives when using supplemental resources: when educators seek it; where do they search; and how they search and browse; downsides and drawbacks with supplemental materials, including issues around quality and alignment to standards; problems with virtual resource pools; and implications and opportunities for states, school districts, and educational publishers to assist teachers in locating appropriate supplemental materials.

Key Findings

Key findings examined and analyzed in this report include what teachers look for when choosing a supplemental resource based on subject area; the problems with user ratings on unregulated supplementary web sites like Teachers Pay Teachers; and opportunities for educational materials publishers to play a larger role in assisting schools and teachers in choosing supplemental materials. Also examined are some of the more subtle and indirect benefits of letting teachers seek and use supplemental resources despite some of the drawbacks of these resources.

Key Companies Profiled

Simba has also identified and profiled those major educational materials publishers, as well as smaller innovators who are leaders in publishing supplemental resources. Larger profiles are provided for Discovery Education, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw Hill, Renaissance Learning, Savvas, Scholastic and Stride Learning Solutions. Companies with smaller profiles include Accelerate Learning, Amazon Ignite, Amplify, BrainPOP, Carnegie Learning, Chegg Uversity, Desmos, Edgenuity, Follett, Imagine Learning, Kahn Academy, Kahoot!, Lexia Learning, Newsela, RethinkEd, Rosetta Stone and Square Panda.

About Simba Information

Publishers and investment professionals can trust Simba Information’s State of K-12 Supplemental Materials Market 2022 to provide the inside intelligence needed to evaluate the growth potential and understand the trends impacting the market for the K-12 supplemental instructional materials market.

This report is an essential tool for publishing executives, M&A advisors, market analysts, and industry consultants who need to understand the larger trends and necessary business strategies when considering the supplemental materials instructional market.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 than affect it.


  • Methodology
  • Executive Summary
  • What Are Supplemental Materials?
    • Background
    • What is “Supplemental Material”?
    • Some Distinctions
    • Why Supplementary Materials Matter—and Why They Matter So Much Now
    • Where do Supplemental Resources Come From?
  • The Supplementary Materials Market: Sales, Spending and Forecasts
    • Table Total Size and Share of Supplementary Materials Market, 2020-2024 (in millions)
    • Supplemental Market by Subject Area
      • Science
        • Table Spending on K-12 Core vs. Supplemental Instructional Materials for Science, 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 (in millions)
      • Reading
        • Table Estimates of Reading Spending by Classroom, 2019-2020 School Years
      • Math
        • Table Estimates of Mathematics Supplementary Materials Spending by Classroom, 2018-2019 School Years
      • Social Studies
        • Table Estimate of Supplemental Social Studies Spending by Classroom, 2019-2020
      • Social and Emotional Learning
        • Table Sales of Social-Emotional Learning Materials, 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, Core vs. Supplemental (in millions)
        • Table Forecasted Sales of Social-Emotional Learning Instructional Materials, 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, Core vs. Supplemental (in millions)
    • Looking Forward
  • Teachers’ Practices and Perspectives
    • Why and When Teachers Seek Out Supplementary Materials
    • Where Do Teachers Search?
    • How Do Teachers Search and Browse for Materials?
      • Table Most Commonly Selected ELA Resources by Teachers, (Beyond Curriculum): Top 10
      • Table Most Commonly Selected Math Resources by Teachers, (Beyond Curriculum): Top 10
      • Table Most Commonly Selected ELA Science Resource by Teachers, (Beyond Curriculum): Top 10
    • Establishing Criteria for a Quality/Desirable Source
      • Table Criteria for Selecting Supplemental Reading Resources
      • Table Most Important Criteria in Selecting Supplemental Social Studies Materials
    • After Selection
  • Downsides and Drawbacks with Supplementary Materials
    • Quality Concerns
    • Causes of the Weaknesses
      • Ineffective Resource Rating Methods
      • Incorrect or misleading resource descriptions
      • Poor Google Search Capabilities
      • Time Stresses
      • Possible Solutions
    • Not Forgetting the Positives
  • Implications and Opportunities
    • State and School District Guidance
    • The Role of Educational Publishers
    • Potential Problems with Standards and Guidance
  • Company Profiles
    • Major Players
      • Discovery Education
      • Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH)
      • McGraw Hill Education
      • Renaissance
      • Savvas (Previously Pearson K-12 Learning)
      • Stride Learning Solutions
      • Scholastic
    • Selected Other Publishers
  • Sample Supplemental Selection Guides
    • State of Kentucky: High Quality Instructional Resources
    • Fremont Union High School District (Sunnyvale, California) “Selecting Supplemental Materials”

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