Why aren’t online learning programs working better in schools: Maybe they need to be more integrated with what is actually taught during whole classroom instruction?

September 2026

Computer-assisted learning (CAL)—educational software providing instruction to help students learn concepts and skills—is ubiquitous in US schools. Despite meta-analyses suggesting benefits, national test scores have declined during rapid CAL adoption. This may reflect insufficient research on how and when CAL complements instruction. Using a fixed effect model, we find 60 additional minutes of CAL usage when integrated with classroom instruction improves standardized literacy outcomes by 0.061 standard deviations at a cost of $2.28 per student. Yet a commonly used "naïve" statistical model when not using standardized outcomes biases results upward fourfold, suggesting purported CAL benefits may sometimes reflect biased estimates. We conclude the field should move toward a more nuanced perspective by identifying CAL's comparative advantage rather than whether to use it.

Keywords

Education Technology, Literacy, Cohesive Instructional Models, Cost Assessment, Elementray

Education level

K-12 Education

Topics

Student Learning