Ed‑tech Mirrors School Incentives

Education technology’s effects are determined by the structural incentives of the schools that deploy it: the same adaptive software can be a useful diagnostic when used sparingly by well-supported teachers or a time‑filling monoculture when administrators lean on it to substitute for instruction. Debates framed as 'is ed‑tech good or bad' miss the policy levers that shape how tools are integrated, such as staffing, curriculum choice, and procurement rules. — Shifting the frame from product evaluation to institutional incentives changes what policies (hiring, curriculum design, procurement oversight) matter for improving student outcomes.