Almost 1,400 voices—college students, academics, superintendents, and oldsters—make clear how engagement is outlined, measured, and misunderstood in faculties.
INTERVIEW | by Victor Rivero
Engagement could also be the engine of scholar success, however new information exhibits that educators, dad and mom, and college students don’t at all times agree on what it seems to be like. Discovery Training’s Training Insights 2025–2026 survey highlights stunning disconnects. On this interview, CEO Brian Shaw unpacks the findings with EdTech Digest.
The report, Training Insights 2025–2026: Fueling Studying By way of Engagement, displays the views of 1,398 superintendents, academics, dad and mom, and college students nationwide. Performed in Might 2025 by Hanover Analysis, the examine gives a well timed have a look at how engagement is outlined, measured, and supported in school rooms in the present day. Learn on for Shaw’s tackle the important thing findings, what they imply for educating and studying, and the way edtech suppliers might help shut the gaps.
So, let’s get to the interview.
Good afternoon Brian and nice to take a seat down with you once more. First, are you able to begin off by telling readers why Discovery Training conducts this analysis?
For the second yr in a row, Discovery Training has carried out an in-depth, nationwide analysis examine that explores a well timed and related subject in Ok-12 educating and instruction that requires extra consideration and exploration.
This yr, we’ve taken a better have a look at the subject of scholar and classroom engagement. We all know that scholar engagement is nuanced, multidimensional, and varies throughout contexts, age teams, and particular person learners. Proper now, it appears as if engagement could be very top-of-mind for a lot of training stakeholders, so we wished to take a deeper dive into the topic to achieve a better understanding of how scholar engagement is outlined, noticed, and nurtured in school rooms. The outcomes of this in-depth look could be discovered in Training Insights 2025–2026: Fueling Studying By way of Engagement, which is on the market to all training stakeholders in the present day at www.discoveryeducation.com.
We expect that by sharing the insights, opinions, and views of these closest to the classroom—on this case, virtually 1,400 superintendents, academics, dad and mom, and college students from throughout the US—we will spark new conversations about scholar engagement, help stakeholders in creating actionable steps that result in tougher, supportive studying environments selling dynamic instruction, and assist each scholar attain their fullest potential.
Now, out of your perspective, what are the most important takeaways from this report?
There have been lots of actually attention-grabbing nuggets of knowledge that got here out of this report, however for me, the most important takeaway was the discovering that, though engagement is broadly acknowledged by educators as a key driver of studying, there may be disagreement amongst educators as to what the highest indicators of engagement of their school rooms are.
In response to the information we collected, 93% of educators agreed that scholar engagement is a vital metric to understanding total achievement, and 99% of superintendents polled imagine scholar engagement is among the prime predictors of success at college.
‘In response to the information we collected, 93% of educators agreed that scholar engagement is a vital metric to understanding total achievement, and 99% of superintendents polled imagine scholar engagement is among the prime predictors of success at college.’
However whereas academics and superintendents agreed that engagement is essential to studying, there have been variations on what constituted robust indicators of scholar engagement. 72% of academics ranked “asking considerate questions” because the strongest indicator of scholar engagement whereas 54% of superintendents recognized “performing properly on assessments” as a prime engagement indicator. It’s attention-grabbing to notice that teachers ranked standardized assessments as among the many lowest indicators of engagement.
One other key discovering of Training Insights 2025–2026 is that college leaders and academics disagree on whether or not their faculties have techniques for measuring engagement. Overwhelming majorities of superintendents and principals mentioned their districts have an intentional strategy to measuring engagement, however solely 60% of academics surveyed agreed with that assertion. As well as, practically 1/3 of academics say {that a} lack of clear, shared definitions is a prime problem to measuring curiosity, motivation and engagement successfully. Taken collectively these information factors paint an image of confusion as to if faculties are literally measuring engagement, and if that’s the case, what it’s they’re measuring, emerges.
IMAGES: DISCOVERY EDUCATION
Training Insights 2025–2026 additionally collected info on college students’ perceptions of their very own engagement and the outcomes differed from academics’ perceptions. When requested to charge the diploma to which they agree with this statement- “College students are extremely engaged at school,” 63% of scholars agreed and solely 45% of academics and 51% of principals agreed with the identical assertion. As well as, once we reviewed the information by grade band, the hole between college students’ perceptions of their engagement and educators’ perceptions of engagement widened, portray a worrying image of a perceived “engagement hole” between academics and college students that grows as a baby progresses by means of college.
Lastly, as we live within the age of AI, we felt it prudent to incorporate some questions on the subject. Curiously, we discovered that proximity to the classroom modified respondents’ impressions of AI. For instance, two-thirds of scholars imagine AI may assist them study sooner, but fewer than half of academics report utilizing AI themselves. Solely 57% of academics agreed with the assertion “I continuously study constructive methods college students are utilizing AI,” whereas 87% of principals and 98% of superintendents agreed. Likewise, solely 53% of academics agreed with the assertion “I’m excited concerning the potential for AI to help educating and studying,” in comparison with 83% of principals and 94% of superintendents.
‘Curiously, we discovered that proximity to the classroom modified respondents’ impressions of AI. For instance, two-thirds of scholars imagine AI may assist them study sooner, but fewer than half of academics report utilizing AI themselves.’
There’s much more actually attention-grabbing information within the report on perceived scholar obstacles to engagement, how college students exhibit disengagement within the classroom, what methods can enhance scholar engagement, and extra, so I’d encourage readers to obtain the report and evaluation the information and insights themselves.
What do you see as the primary takeaway for educators on this information?
Listed here are what I imagine are the three takeaways for educators within the Training Insights 2025-2026 report:
Scholar engagement is variable, and thus a difficult idea to outline and measure. It manifests itself in varied varieties, and what constitutes engagement for one scholar, or group of scholars, could differ by classroom, college or district.
Higher methods, shared definitions, and efficient instruments are wanted to observe and foster engagement. Alignment throughout roles, sensible sources, and actionable insights empower academics to ascertain participating studying environments that help the holistic growth of all college students.
Limitations to deeper scholar engagement could be each seen and hidden. College students could full duties with out absolutely committing to studying, making it difficult to establish and tackle passive or withdrawn behaviors.
Let’s swap gears right here and discuss what you imagine this report means for edtech. What’s edtech’s function in fixing the disconnect between Academics, Principals, and Superintendents that the Training Insights 2025–2026 report uncovered?
First, I imagine edtech suppliers have to decide to working with college students, academics, principals, and directors to search out settlement on the strongest indicators of engagement within the classroom. The edtech trade can play a serious function in surfacing the varied methods engagement is interpreted, skilled, outlined in training in the present day, and in constructing consensus on these subjects.
I imagine that edtech suppliers must also play a task in growing and supporting efficient new methods of monitoring scholar engagement. For instance, monitoring college students behavioral, cognitive, and affective engagement with studying actions and sources will present actionable insights that may then assist create higher tutorial methods and options.
As well as, edtech ought to search to analysis and quantify the connection between engagement and achievement. Can we predict tutorial achievement based mostly on engagement indicators? Are some types of engagement extra essential to scholar achievement than others in sure contexts or environments—for example, what kind of engagement is most useful in a math classroom? What engagement indicators ought to a science instructor search for? How may these indicators be finest mirrored and measured in edtech options? These are all questions we, as edtech suppliers, might help reply.
‘…what kind of engagement is most useful in a math classroom? What engagement indicators ought to a science instructor search for? How may these indicators be finest mirrored and measured in edtech options?’
The overwhelming numbers of educators we polled imagine scholar engagement is among the prime predictors of success at college. We have to make clear this linkage, discover methods to successfully measure scholar engagement, after which explicitly join that measurement to tutorial achievement.
Particularly, how will Discovery Training pivot to deal with these findings?
Discovery Training has at all times sought to supply educators and college students with high-quality edtech instruments and sources that have interaction college students and enhance achievement. By way of the person expertise and product analysis we conduct, we monitor a number of scholar engagement indicators, and with our efficacy analysis now we have been in a position to exhibit our merchandise’ potential to help tutorial achievement.
Earlier this yr, we enhanced our merchandise with extra real-world connections, extra customized content material, and extra revolutionary tutorial methods as a part of our ongoing efforts to make sure our sources proceed to gasoline scholar engagement. That work will proceed as we improve our sources.
However that’s not sufficient.
As we transfer ahead, Discovery Training will add to its ongoing work to help scholar engagement and its connections to scholar success and achievement. Along with our efforts to create the highest-quality edtech options available in the market, we are going to search to construct consensus on the strongest indicators of engagement within the classroom, discover how finest to observe scholar engagement by means of our services, and start analysis on the way to quantify the connection between engagement and achievement.
‘…work to help scholar engagement and its connections to scholar success and achievement.’
Some of the essential findings of this report—that engagement is seen as important to studying, however inconsistently outlined, noticed, and supported in Ok-12 school rooms nationwide—highlights the necessity for a extra standardized strategy to measuring and fostering scholar engagement throughout all instructional settings—and particularly with edtech services. Attaining such a standardized strategy shall be problem, however it’s one which Discovery Training embraces readily.
Thanks to your time, Brian. The place can educators concerned with studying about this report study extra?
Training Insights 2025–2026: Fueling Studying By way of Engagement is now obtainable at www.discoveryeducation.com.
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Victor Rivero is the Editor-in-Chief of EdTech Digest. Write to: victor@edtechdigest.com
