Nearly a year ago, L.A. Unified sent Apple a letter demanding that it address problems with the Pearson curriculum.
“Only
two schools of 69 in the Instructional Technology Initiative … use
Pearson regularly,” according to an internal March report from project
director Bernadette Lucas. “Any given class typically experiences one
problem or more daily. Teachers report that the students enjoy the
interactive content — when it’s available. When it’s not, teachers and
students try to roll with the interruptions to teaching and learning as
best they can.”
The remaining schools, she said, with more than 35,000 students, “have given up on attempting regular use of the app.”
Other
problems emerged as well, according to that report. District
specialists said the materials are not readily adaptable for students
who are not proficient in English. And there are no online tests to help
guide instruction; the only available assessments are on paper. Nor has
Pearson provided data or tools that permit an analysis of how often the
curriculum is used or how well it functions.
Making the materials “usable” has required “extraordinary, unsustainable, and un-scalable resources,” Lucas wrote.
