Chromebooks are now a standard in K-12 education, and a recent Forrester study commissioned by Google quantifies just how impactful they are. The study, "The Total Economic Impact™ Of Chromebooks In Education," interviewed leaders from nine organizations and combined their experiences into a composite school system with 30,000 students. The findings demonstrate a significant return on investment (ROI), improved educational outcomes, and reduced IT burdens.

Quantifiable Financial Benefits

The study found a five-year, risk-adjusted ROI of 229% and a Net Present Value (NPV) of $24.45 million for the composite organization. This financial benefit comes from several key areas:

• Avoided hardware costs. The lower cost of Chromebooks compared to legacy devices resulted in a massive $28.0 million in avoided hardware costs. A district edtech coordinator noted that Chromebooks cost "quite a bit less expensive," often half the price of legacy devices.

• Reduced IT management. IT staff saw a 76% reduction in time spent deploying and managing devices using Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals. This led to $3.8 million in savings over five years.

• Enhanced security. By having built-in security features from ChromeOS, the composite organization avoided successful ransomware attacks, saving $2.8 million over five years.

• Lower accessibility costs. One-third fewer students needed third-party accessibility tools, saving the composite school $478,000 over five years.

These quantifiable benefits highlight the practical, monetary advantages of adopting Chromebooks at scale.

Improved Educational Outcomes and Unquantified Benefits

The study also quantified significant improvements in student and teacher time-on-task, a key educational outcome.

• Improved student time-on-task. Students gained 18 extra hours of learning time per school year due to faster startup times and no lengthy updates.

• Improved teacher time-on-task. Teachers saved 42 hours per school year by using the integrated Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals for lesson prep and communication.

Beyond the numbers, the study identified several unquantified benefits that are critical for a holistic educational environment:

• Equity. Chromebooks' affordability and a school's ability to allow students to take them home help reduce performance gaps caused by socioeconomic disadvantages.

• Parental engagement. The platform enables more constant and automated communication with parents, giving them deeper insights into their children's progress.

• Social inclusion. More students with different abilities can now use the same standard devices as their peers, which aids social cohesion.

• Reduced repair costs. IT staff spend less time and money repairing Chromebooks than legacy devices, in part because of their modular design and ease of replacing single parts.

A Lifecycle Partner for Success

The study confirms what many districts already know: Chromebooks provide an immense return on investment and are a transformative tool for education. As a trusted partner in the K-12 space, CTL aligns with the findings of this study by providing schools with durable, cost-effective, and easy-to-manage Chromebooks. CTL’s comprehensive lifecycle services, which include program planning, deployment, maintenance, and end-of-life recycling, provide the crucial support that maximizes the value of a district's investment. With a commitment to reducing the IT burden and providing a complete solution, companies like CTL help schools achieve the impressive results highlighted in the Forrester report.