As we look ahead to the class of 2025-6, we’re reflecting on the top-tier trends in school education that NWEA’s experts picked out at the start of the year. It’s an interesting set of predictions. But what do they really mean for educators—and what do we mean by top-tier trends in school education? 

It’s not a question with a simple answer, but at the core of these top-tier trends in school education, one theme stands out—literacy. How we support it, how we measure it, and how we ensure every student has access to the high-quality learning frameworks they need to succeed. 

So today we’re exploring NWEA’s predictions, breaking down their significance for literacy, and sharing practical steps to strengthen reading in your classroom. 

Let’s dive in! 

What do we mean by ‘top-tier trends in school education’? 

Top-tier trends in school education are, for the purposes of this article, a popular, cutting-edge idea or approach that lots of schools are starting to use because it’s working well and getting results.  

Think of it like the “latest fashion” in teaching: top-tier trends in school education are strategies that are new, needed, and feel likely to catch on fast.  

Closing the gaps to address COVID-19’s lingering effects on middle school students 

“As we approach 2025, the impact of COVID-19 on academic gains and achievement continues to be a concern, especially in the area of middle school literacy. Current middle schoolers, who spent their early literacy years navigating the pandemic’s learning disruptions, face some of the most persistent challenges in our education system, according to our latest research.  

Recovery efforts have stalled for many, and in some cases, achievement gaps are widening. To reverse these trends, districts must prioritize evidence-based interventions, including high-dosage tutoring and extended learning time.” 

– Dr. Karyn Lewis, VP of Research and Policy Partnerships at NWEA 

This one isn’t ambiguous about literacy: from it, we can glean that one of the most urgent top-tier trends in school education for 2025 is addressing the reading gaps caused by the pandemic. These learners missed critical early reading instruction, and without targeted support, their setbacks risk becoming long-term barriers.  

Literacy remains the gateway to success across all subjects and is central to helping students regain confidence and progress, and Dr. Lewis’ statement addresses a key issue: recovery efforts have stalled, and as reading challenges become entrenched, it’s getting harder and harder to get the rescue effort off the ground.  

Suggestions for teachers: 

● Prioritize high-dosage tutoring focused on reading skills for struggling middle schoolers. 

● Use extended learning time for targeted literacy interventions.  

● Integrate social-emotional learning with literacy activities to support students’ well-being. 

● Foster a positive, stable classroom environment to keep students engaged. 

● Consider building your focus on top-tier trends in education with assistive tools like reading pens to help students independently access grade-level texts.

Interconnected systems are going to underpin student success

“In 2025, we will see a push to save teachers’ time through better, more connected tools and systems. Currently, teachers are overwhelmed by navigating multiple, disconnected systems for assessments, curriculum, and student data. Today’s educators are expected to access too many disconnected tools with different logins to see a specific piece of their students’ academic health instead of a comprehensive picture. This extra administrative load takes away from time that could be spent on instruction and student engagement.” 

– Chris Minnich, President of NWEA 

So a key theme among the top-tier trends in school education is the push for integrated, user-friendly technology. While it doesn’t directly target literacy, its impact on reading instruction is significant. 

With streamlined tech, teachers can better identify literacy needs, support struggling students, and personalize learning effectively. By reducing administrative burdens, this shift frees educators to focus on instruction and reading solutions—rather than tasks that don’t actively support their learners. 

Suggestions for teachers: 

● Advocate for integrated platforms combining assessment, instruction, and student data. When it’s all in one place, it’s far easier to use and build from.  

● Use real-time data insights to identify students needing extra literacy support. 

● Spend saved administrative time on small-group reading instruction or one-on-one support. 

● Collaborate with colleagues to coordinate literacy interventions. 

● Incorporate reading pens as part of assistive technology for students requiring extra help. 

On science, and why some top-tier trends in school education are subject-specific 

“Throughout recent school years, student learning disruptions has been a leading topic, but the focus has been primarily on literacy and mathematics. Both are essential subjects that students need to master, but the one subject that has been left out of the conversation and has faced massive disruptions is science.  

Before and during COVID, science took a backseat compared to other subjects. Now, we are seeing the repercussions of that, with significantly lower achievement scores and little progress made. In 2025, schools will continue to face the challenge of recovering science achievement, particularly for older students and historically marginalized students. Schools will need to prioritize integrated approaches that combine science instruction with math and reading to accelerate progress across multiple subjects.  

With the STEM industry growing and becoming a main driver in our workforce, it is highly important that we continue to expose students to science and educate them on the possibilities within this field.” 

– Sue Kowalski, PhD, Lead Research Scientist at NWEA 

Another of the top-tier trends in school education we’re seeing this summer is the integration of science with literacy and math instruction. It makes sense: science achievement has lagged due to pandemic disruptions, and it didn't benefit from the increased funding and attention that math and literacy received during the broader COVID era. Combining science with reading and writing tasks can accelerate progress in both areas, and it’s evident that learners need support in both.  

…But it relies on confident access to reading. Students can’t boost their science skills to an adequate extent when their literacy skills are gating access to the textbooks, and it’s difficult for teachers to back-engineer understanding from the complex lexis such as we’d find in a science textbook when reading confidence isn’t there.  

Improved access to reading is paramount here if we want to boost STEM and literacy as part of a dual approach, and really mine into what this year’s top-tier trends in school education are telling us—and that means reading has to be supported with mechanisms that allow students to decode at their own pace and supplement their understanding with definitions. 

Suggestions for teachers: 

● Ensure that students have access to tools that not only give them access to text-to-speech, but dictionary definitions too.  

● Incorporate science texts and articles into literacy lessons. 

● Encourage students to write about scientific observations and experiments. 

● Teach science-specific vocabulary and reading strategies. 

● Use project-based learning to engage students in authentic science literacy. 

Two new top-tier trends in school education look likely to be regional research and data use  

“While COVID may be in our rear-view mirror, the effects of disruptions to learning are still being felt as students struggle to regain academic progress to pre-pandemic levels. Education leaders will have an increased need for effective options and strategies to accelerate student academic growth. Along with that, they will need a more comprehensive view of how those options and strategies are driving growth within their local school communities.  

National, large-scale research analysis only goes so far as to guide how best to support students. Researched efforts at the local level will see a rise in value in the years ahead. Reliable and trusted research organizations will play a critical role as partners to schools and districts seeking evidence-based answers specific to their region and district circumstances.” 

– Scott Peters, PhD, Director of Research Consulting Partnerships at NWEA 

The emphasis on local research and data-driven decision-making is a standout among the top-tier trends in school education because it’s not something we usually see make it into school-level conversation. 

While national studies provide guidance, each school community has unique needs and localities will be impacted by challenges that are unique to their area and setting. Local data that takes an area’s unique informing factors into account helps educators tailor literacy interventions effectively and adapt strategies based on what works best for their students, not students everywhere.  

But how do they best facilitate that? 

Suggestions for teachers: 

● Engage in or lead local research projects focused on literacy, and keep links strong with other schools. Sharing data and trends across districts is useful when it comes to informed decision-making.  

● Regularly analyze reading data to inform instruction, and gather primary data from your students: ask them about reading habits, challenges, and see if the answers they give you might just turn into the foundations for a new strategy. 

● Collaborate with colleagues to share insights and refine approaches. 

● Pilot the use of reading pens and track their impact on student progress. 

And effective data management rounds out our 5 top-tier trends in school education  

“Data is becoming – if not already – an essential component to successfully supporting our students. These insights can tell a story about who is coming to school, who is contributing in the classroom, and who needs assistance. Unfortunately, it can be quite difficult as student information and data tends to be siloed, outdated, and non-actionable.  

Expecting educators to find the information, track data trends, and identify actionable steps themselves is not probable without training and resources.”  

– Tatiana Ciccarelli, Senior Professional Learning Consultant at NWEA 

And finally, we’re rounding out NWEA’s rundown of 2025’s top-tier trends in school education with the idea that effective data management is critical. It’s true: data must be accessible and actionable to support literacy growth because tracking student attainment is one of the most reliable ways to know which students in a class need intervention, and how well those interventions are working. 

But it’s not easy.  

Many literacy solutions lack adequate guidance for staff and school leaders on tracking progress and maximizing interventions. Schools that invest in these top-tier trends in school education and find solutions that help teachers monitor, interpret and use data effectively can better intervene on literacy challenges will always have the edge when it comes to learning progress— it’s just a matter of finding those holistic solutions. 

Suggestions for teachers: 

● Participate in professional development focused on data analysis for literacy. 

● Choose literacy support solutions that integrate training and feedback into their provision—another top-tier trend in school education this year is tech that supports teachers in an ongoing way, not just tech in a box.  

● Use data dashboards to monitor student reading progress regularly: it’s already a classroom staple, but a renewed focus can really help data make that leap from a top-tier trend in school education to a real ‘mission critical’ focus.  

● Work with school leaders to improve data accessibility and usability. 

● Set clear literacy goals and track progress systematically. 

● Include reading pen usage data to evaluate its impact on student independence. 

So, our top-tier trends in school education? Literacy, literacy and literacy.  

NWEA’s top-tier trends in school education reveal one constant: literacy is foundational to student success, and it needs to be tackled in a way that puts students and teachers first. Students need the confidence and independence to read fluently, and teachers need the support and time to gather their resources, understand their students, and do what they do best: teach.  

By embracing these trends and applying research-backed strategies—including the thoughtful use of tools like reading pens— we can create a post-COVID learning environment where more and more students can thrive regardless of low literacy confidence and reading needs.  

Putting literacy first is the smartest way to prepare learners for the challenges and opportunities ahead, and really capitalize on the wealth of innovation fueling 2025’s top-tier trends in school education well into the new semester.  

Is your school ready?  

You can find out more about reading pens, top-tier trends in school educationand our flagship reading support tool C-Pen Reader 3 at Scanning Pens.  

But we’re a chatty bunch, and if you want to speak to one of our reading support experts about supporting the reading needs in your district, school or classroom, we’re always happy to explore in-depth solutions for your setting.  

📧 Drop us a line: usinfo@scanningpens.com 

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