About one-third of K-12 teachers in the U.S. are aware of open educational resources (OER) — teaching and learning materials that are free to use and adapt as needed — according to an annual survey conducted by Bay View Analytics, an Oakland-based statistical research firm.
This level of awareness represents an all-time high in the five years of the survey and an increase of 4 percentage points since last year (32 percent in 2023–24 compared to 28 percent). But while 70 percent of teachers agreed digital materials provide more flexibility for students, most still reported preferring print.
However, among those who did report utilizing OER, many said they used resources as supplemental material to enhance their existing materials or to personalize and create different content for individual students and groups as a means of providing content in areas where students are struggling and fleshing out more advanced topics.
“More and more K-12 schools and districts have been turning to OER over the past several years, and this year, we’ve seen openly licensed materials likely reach a tipping point,” said Bay View Analytics Research Director Julia Seaman. “Teachers are becoming increasingly comfortable with digital materials, which actually supports greater OER adoption. There isn’t total acceptance for digital, as print has its strengths, but teachers are embracing the flexibility that digital tools can provide.”
Findings were gathered from a nationally representative survey of 1,377 teachers and 206 administrators across 48 states and the District of Columbia in April 2024.
Researchers found that 79 percent of K-12 teachers offered their required textbooks in a digital format for their students in the 2023–24 school year. While 57 percent agreed that students learn better from print materials than they do from digital materials, 70 percent acknowledged that “digital materials provide greater flexibility for students.”
Teachers with less than five years of experience tended to have less knowledge OERs, and middle and high school teachers were found to have higher rates of awareness than those in elementary schools.
