With major district-level budget cuts on the horizon, education technology is a prime target for scaling back spending. A 2025 survey of K-12 education leaders found “the average rate of projected spending growth in the survey was 1.6 percent, far below historical levels.” They expected to spend more on transportation, energy, food, and materials due to rising input costs and to spend less on student well-being across all categories, from social-emotional learning to physical health to behavior.
To make the wisest cost-cutting choices for the 2026-27 year, school leaders need accurate, comprehensive data about which edtech programs and apps were most impactful during the current year.
But figuring this out can mean sorting through a mountain of information. Teachers and students accessed an average of 2,982 tools per district during the 2024-25 school year. No one has time to collect and analyze data for 2,982 tools.
This is why Otus is designed to integrate with a wide variety of educational tools, making it easier to gain insights into what edtech is being accessed, how the tools are used, and how they correlate to student achievement. In addition, our platform provides a holistic picture of all the factors that contribute to student success beyond academic metrics.
If your district is looking to save money by reducing redundancy, replacing ineffective programs, and discontinuing overlapping tools, here are three ways Otus can support your decision-making process.
In many districts, the process of selecting an edtech tool starts with a technology needs assessment—which is less about diving deep into the functionality of a particular tool and more about understanding how a technology improvement might help your district overcome a specific challenge.
Comprehensive data platforms like Otus simplify reporting about outcomes by giving administrators a single source of information. Tapping into a digital assistant such as Otus AI offers an even easier way to generate clear, impactful reports to showcase program success.
For instance, when you ask for an analysis of the usage of a particular tool and student performance, Otus AI can provide side-by-side comparisons of users and non-users, as well as an analysis of key findings such as positive impact and growth by demographic subgroup.
The explosion of edtech tools in recent years created unintended outcomes like disconnected technology, overspending, data silos, communication gaps, and lost productivity. In fact, researchers have found that up to 65% of purchased edtech licenses are not being utilized.
Resolving these frustrating tech excesses could be a silver lining to budget shortfalls. Decision-makers who discontinue wasteful and ineffective tools could generate goodwill among educators toward more difficult decisions.
Understanding which tools are being used with fidelity is also important because students cannot grow from a program they are not using with fidelity. Otus AI can answer detailed usage questions like this, ensuring school leaders are aware of the context around tools’ performance data.
As stakeholders’ trust grows in the effectiveness of K-12 analytics to inform decisions, improve learning outcomes, and guide strategic planning, school leaders are also turning to predictive analytics to spot trends and anticipate outcomes. For example, if you have been testing the waters this spring for new fall purchases, Otus can help you easily track program success against expected outcomes and look ahead to programs’ likely impact if they are expanded district-wide.
In addition, as Otus Co-Founder and President Chris Hull wrote recently in this piece for District Administration, predictive analytics can help districts identify at-risk students before challenges escalate so resources can be redirected toward programs proven to move the needle.
Otus is invaluable in shedding light on which tools foster the most growth for individual students as well as different demographic groups—straightforward and compelling data leaders can rely on as a foundation for their recommendations during difficult budget decisions.
Otus also streamlines collaboration among educators and staff, making it easier to share data about what works and what does not—and to advocate for edtech tools currently making a difference in classrooms or showing promise for future investment.
A final consideration: Otus users can save money by bringing together assessment, grading, data analytics, and progress monitoring. Our team can customize service packages so your district only pays for the features you utilize.