Pearson's AI Tutoring Overreach

Pearson’s AI Tutoring Overreach ranks as the #9 worst edtech failure of 2026 for a simple reason: its adaptive learning platform cost districts 40% more than the average rival yet delivered a 0.12 effect size on student outcomes. Teachers reported the system’s rigid pacing forced 3-minute completion windows per problem, triggering frustration in 78% of surveyed students. This underperforms #10’s pandemic remote learning by failing even its core promise of scalability, as 62% of pilot districts abandoned the product within one semester.