DC Public Schools families: share your experience with screens in school in a short survey. Opt-in and anonymous, run by the Schools Beyond Screens initiative.
DC Public Schools cleared these tools for safety. We scored them for whether they're worth your kid's time.
The district's stamp means a tool passed its data-privacy and compliance bar — not that it's any good, or right for your kid. Here's the difference, tool by tool.
Your kid logs into a handful of these before lunch. District of Columbia Public Schools publishes the full list of digital tools approved for classrooms — 146 of them — but a list of names doesn't tell you which ones build something and which just fill time.
Start with what "approved" means, because it's narrower than it sounds. A tool earns approval by clearing the district's data-privacy and compliance review — how it handles student data, COPPA, FERPA. That's real, and it matters. It says nothing about whether the tool is any good.
That gap is what we fill. Every tool here carries a WISE score — Wholesome, Imaginative, Safe, Enriching, 0 to 100 — for whether it's worth your kid's time, not just whether it's legally cleared. Some of these are excellent. Some are digital worksheets. The scores tell them apart.
Screen time is part of that math. The tools that ask for the most hours — adaptive-practice and digital assessment, the kind of homework that can run three or four hours a week — aren't always the ones teaching the most, and some parents have found that work drifting from what's covered in class. When a tool costs a lot of screen time and gives little back, that shows up in its score. The ones at the top tend to build a real skill and then get out of the way.
We kept the 106 tools a student actually learns with — leaving out the logins, gradebooks, and IT plumbing — sorted them into the subjects below, and scored each one. Sign in and we'll re-rank the whole thing for your own kid.
The source
This list comes straight from the DC Public Schools DCPS Digital Tool Dashboard — the district's own public record of digital tools approved for classrooms (146 total). We kept the 106 a student directly learns with and added a WISE score to each. The approvals are the district's; the scores are ours.
See the district's dashboard ↗Core platforms · 12
Where the school day actually lives
These are the rooms, not the lessons. Canvas holds the assignments, Nearpod runs the live class, Seesaw sends the work home to you. None of them teach a subject on their own — they're the platforms everything else happens inside. Knowing them means knowing where your kid spends the school day.
Book Creator
95App
The digital equivalent of a blank notebook and a massive box of art supplies, without the glitter mess on your carpet.
Microsoft OneNote
92App
A digital binder that actually stays organized, unlike the physical one currently decomposing at the bottom of your kid's backpack.
Seesaw
91App
The digital fridge door where your kid actually gets to show off how they solved that math problem or read that story.
Lumio (formerly SMART Learning Suite)
85Website
A collaborative classroom tool that turns boring PDFs into interactive games and group projects without the usual privacy headaches.
Nearpod
82App
The digital classroom's answer to the boring slideshow, featuring VR field trips and quizzes that actually tell the teacher if your kid is paying attention.
SMARTNotebook (Smart Tech)
82Website
The software that turned the classroom whiteboard into a giant iPad—for better or worse.
Discovery Education
81Website
The Discovery Channel’s academic cousin. High-quality videos and virtual field trips that make school-assigned screen time actually worth the battery life.
PlayPosit
80Website
Turns passive YouTube watching into active learning by making kids actually answer questions before the video keeps playing.
Formative
78Website
A digital classroom tool that swaps boring paper worksheets for interactive lessons with instant teacher feedback.
Edgenuity
48Website
Self-paced credit-recovery coursework: it gets you to the finish line, but nobody enjoys the scenery.
Canvas
32App
The digital backpack your kid can't lose, but will definitely complain about.
Imagine Edgenuity Products
32Website
The academic equivalent of a frozen dinner: it technically fulfills the requirement, but nobody's asking for seconds.
Reading & literacy · 25
The biggest category, and the most uneven
DCPS approved more reading tools than anything else, and they do very different jobs. Some build phonics brick by brick (Lexia, Amira). Some are leveled libraries your kid picks from (Raz-Kids, Sora). Some teach the writing side (NoRedInk). A tool that's perfect for a struggling 2nd grader can bore a strong 5th grader — match the job to the kid.
Bookshare
92Website
The world's largest digital library for kids who find standard books a literal headache.
Reading Coach
92App
A private, AI-powered reading tutor that turns phonics practice into a 'choose your own adventure' story without the usual educational-app fluff.
Pebble Go
91Website
A walled research garden for K–2: real facts a first-grader can actually read, with zero chance of a YouTube rabbit hole.
Amira Tutor
89App
An AI reading coach that actually listens, giving kids real-time phonics help without the data-mining baggage of big tech.
Bookelicious
89Website
A book discovery engine that uses cute avatars and smart AI to help kids find the stories they'll actually finish.
Amira Learning
82Website
An AI reading tutor that actually listens to your kid read, providing the kind of immediate phonics feedback that usually requires a human sitting right there.
Amplify
82Website
The digital backbone of the modern classroom that actually cares about the science of reading and making math less of a total drag.
BookNook
82Website
Live, human-led tutoring for reading and math that trades mindless drills for actual conversation and connection.
Raz-Plus
82Website
A massive, school-vetted digital library that turns reading practice into a quest for stars and avatar gear.
Reading A-Z
82App
Leveled reading that follows the science of reading — effective, if a little like doing taxes for 7-year-olds.
Sora App
82App
Your kid's school library on their phone—just make sure they're downloading the OverDrive reader and not the OpenAI video generator.
Benchmark Education
80Website
The heavy-duty literacy engine your school probably uses to turn 'learning to read' into 'reading to learn' through the Science of Reading.
Actively Learn
78Website
A digital reading platform that stops kids from 'zombie scrolling' through their homework by embedding questions directly into the text.
DreamBox Reading Plus
78Website
Reading-stamina training that works — and feels every bit like the workout it is.
NoRedInk
78Website
Grammar drills and essay scaffolding that swap boring textbook sentences for ones about your kid's favorite celebrities and characters.
Lexia Core5
76App
The 'eat your vegetables' of reading apps—scientifically solid, mostly boring, and probably already assigned by your kid's teacher.
Learning A-Z
72Website
The digital library your kid’s teacher probably assigned—safe, effective for literacy, but definitely feels like homework.
Raz-Kids
72App
The classic leveled-reading app that turns literacy practice into a space-themed quest for stars and robot parts.
Beable
68Website
A school-assigned literacy platform that tries to make reading drills feel like a career-building RPG.
Heinemann
68Website
Industrial-grade school literacy tools that get the job done but won't win any awards for fun.
HMH (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
66Website
A heavy school-issued literacy engine — functional, mandated, strictly for getting the work done.
Imagine Language and Literacy
65Website
A heavy-duty literacy drill tool that's a lifesaver for English learners but can feel like a digital treadmill for everyone else.
Lexia PowerUp
65App
Adaptive, science-backed reading drills for older kids — effective, and exactly why your middle-schooler is annoyed at their iPad.
Reading Plus
64Website
Builds reading stamina the way laps build endurance — it works, but your kid won't touch it unless a teacher assigns it.
myLexia
62Website
The educator-facing brain behind Lexia’s reading programs—great for data-hungry teachers, but often a slog for the kids in the digital literacy mines.
Math · 11
Mostly practice engines
Two flavors here. Adaptive programs like Zearn and i-Ready meet your kid where they are and move the difficulty as they go. Drill tools like IXL and DeltaMath give endless reps on a specific skill. Desmos is the free graphing calculator that quietly replaced the $120 one in the backpack.
Desmos
95App
A visual math playground that makes a $100 TI-84 look like a dusty relic from the 1990s.
ST Math
94Website
A text-free, visual math puzzle game where a penguin named JiJi helps your kid actually understand numbers instead of just memorizing them.
Texas Instruments
92Website
The math world's indestructible brick that somehow still costs $100, but it’s the only distraction-free tech your kid actually needs for the SAT.
Brainingcamp
89Website
The digital version of those plastic math blocks, minus the clutter and the privacy concerns.
Zearn
82App
A rigorous, no-nonsense math platform that actually teaches the 'why' behind the numbers without the annoying bells and whistles of typical 'educational' games.
DeltaMath
74Website
Math practice that explains the 'why' when you're stuck, saving kids from the 'I did 50 problems wrong' realization the next morning.
First in Math
73Website
The digital heir to the '24' game that turns mental math drills into a high-speed sticker hunt.
Imagine Math
68Website
Adaptive math drills with a secret weapon: live, bilingual teachers available to help when your kid hits a wall.
DreamBox Learning Math
64Website
The adaptive math tutor your school probably assigned—effective for drills, but it definitely still feels like school.
IXL
48Website
A digital drill sergeant for K-12 standards that trades creative spark for rote fluency and a high-stress scoring system.
i-Ready
38App
The digital equivalent of a stack of photocopied worksheets—except these ones track your kid's every click and never seem to end.
Science, coding & STEM · 12
Where curiosity gets hands-on
The strongest tools on the whole list live here. Code.org and Minecraft for Education teach real computer science through building. Gizmos runs science experiments your kid could never do in a classroom. Even Chess.com is doing quiet work on pattern recognition and patience.
Code.org
95App
Where kids cross from consuming the screen to building what's on it — the best computer-science on-ramp going.
Minecraft for Education
94App
Minecraft without the 'stranger danger' or the constant begging for Minecoins—the organic, cage-free version of the world's favorite sandbox.
Project Lead the Way (PLTW)
94Website
High-octane STEM curriculum that trades boring worksheets for building actual robots and medical tech.
ExploreLearning
89Website
High-quality STEM simulations and math mastery tools that actually require a brain, making it the rare 'educational' screen time worth the minutes.
Gizmos
89Website
Virtual lab simulations that actually make sense, letting kids break things in science class without the cleanup.
JASON Learning
89Website
Real-world STEM missions that trade dry textbooks for direct lines to actual explorers and oceanographers.
Chess - Play & Learn
88App
The undisputed heavyweight champion of chess apps, packed with world-class lessons and a social layer that requires a parent's eye.
Activate Learning
84Website
A heavy-hitting science curriculum that replaces boring textbooks with hands-on investigations and digital modeling.
Carolina Science Online
84Website
Science class goes digital without the brain rot—think virtual labs and Smithsonian-backed STEM that actually connects to real-world kits.
BrainPOP Science
82Website
Science homework that swaps dry textbooks for 3D simulations and a legit framework for critical thinking.
STEMScopes
81Website
The digital science lab your kid is likely using for school—it's heavy on inquiry and surprisingly decent for a textbook replacement.
NASA
78App
Authentic satellite data for future climate scientists and kids who think spreadsheets are a personality trait.
Social studies, news & the wider world · 21
Primary sources and the open internet, vetted
This is where school hands your kid the actual stuff — the Library of Congress, the National Archives, and the Smithsonian put real documents and artifacts in front of them. A heads-up on the news apps: The New York Times, The Washington Post, and NPR were approved as research sources, and they carry grown-up stories alongside the kid-friendly ones.
TED-Ed
94Website
High-production-value animations that make your kid the smartest person at the dinner table without the school-day vibes.
Big History Project
92Website
A massive, free deep dive into 13.8 billion years that makes history feel like a science experiment instead of a list of names and dates.
Library of Congress
92App
The ultimate digital attic of human history—minus the dust, the ads, and the commercial tracking.
BrainPop Jr.
91App
Annie and Moby make K–3 lessons something kids ask to watch — educational screen time that doesn't feel like a chore.
Britannica School
91Website
Vetted research that keeps kids clear of SEO spam and confidently-wrong chatbots.
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/6e/62/6e624419-dc21-4c3a-8072-4a95c0f4eb05/smithsonian-rarebirdad1-1400x290.gif)
Smithsonian Magazine
91Website
The 'wait, how does that actually work?' corner of the internet — curiosity that never feels like homework.
The New Yorker
91Website
Long-form reporting, sharp humor, and fiction that makes a teen feel a little smarter for finishing it.
The New York Times
90App
Serious news without the algorithmic sludge, plus a Learning Network built to make kids sharper readers.
BrainPop
89Website
The only educational site your kid won't actually fight you on, thanks to a dry-witted robot and his long-suffering human pal.
Common Sense Education
89Website
Teaches kids to exist online without losing their privacy, their focus, or their grip on what's real.
Google Translate
89App
The closest thing we have to a Star Trek universal translator—just watch out for the homework shortcuts.
Gale Cengage Learning
88Website
The anti-Google for school projects: a massive, vetted library of real sources that keeps your kid away from the SEO-slop of the open web.
NPR
88App
Smart, substantive, zero fluff — the habit that raises a kid who actually knows what's going on.
PBS Learning Media
88Website
The massive, free digital library where high-quality PBS documentaries meet the standards-aligned lessons teachers actually use.
BrainPop ELL
85Website
Finally, an educational site that doesn't feel like a digital worksheet. Moby the robot helps kids master English through actual stories, not just drills.
BrainPop Espanol: Película del Día
85Website
Tim and Moby tackle the world's big questions in Spanish, one five-minute movie at a time.
US Holocaust Memorial Museum
84Website
The definitive, unflinching digital archive of the Holocaust—essential history that demands a parent in the room.
Wayside Publishing
84Website
Digital language textbooks that prioritize real-world communication over boring grammar drills.
National Archives
82Website
The ultimate 'receipts' for American history—dry, deep, and completely free of the algorithm's nonsense.
Vocabulary
74Website
The smartest word-drill site on the web that swaps boring rote memorization for actual reading comprehension.
YouTube Kids
54App
The training-wheels version of the world's biggest video site—safer than the main app, but still a masterclass in keeping your kid glued to a screen.
Creativity & the arts · 11
The same tools the pros use
Make-something software. Canva and the Adobe suite for design, GarageBand for music, WeVideo for film, Blender for 3D animation. The point of approving the professional tools instead of toy versions is that the skills transfer — what your kid learns here is what a working designer uses Monday morning.
Adobe Creative Cloud Express
96App
Professional design tools for kids, minus the subscription and the data-harvesting — real skills, real output.
Blender
96App
Professional-grade 3D creation for the price of zero dollars. It’s the ultimate creative power tool, provided your kid has the patience of a saint.
Garage Band
96App
The ultimate digital sandbox that turns a screen into a professional recording studio without the typical 'screen time' guilt.
Ink Scape
94App
The free, professional-grade vector graphics editor that lets your kid build real design skills without a monthly subscription or data-mining.
WeVideo
93Website
A powerhouse creative suite that turns kids from passive scrollers into actual producers, provided they have the patience for the timeline.
Canva
92App
The design app that makes school projects look like a professional agency did them—and teaches your kid how to prompt an AI without breaking it.
Creative Cloud by Adobe
92App
The industry-standard powerhouse that turns a screen into a professional workshop for design, film, and digital art.
QuaverEd
88Website
The digital classroom suite that actually makes music and health lessons fun without the usual ed-tech boredom.
Adobe Firefly
87App
The 'adult in the room' of AI art. It’s ethical, professional, and built for kids who want to create rather than just consume.
Adobe Acrobat Reader
72App
A three-ring binder and a highlighter in app form — unexciting, essential, mostly harmless.
Adobe Illustrator Draw
58App
A legacy vector drawing tool that’s great for aspiring designers—if you can still get it to run.
Tutoring, test prep & college · 8
The help-when-stuck shelf
Khan Academy is free, deep, and genuinely good at unsticking a confused kid at 9pm. College Board and AP Classroom run the tests that decide high-school credit and admissions. Varsity Tutors and HeyTutor put a live human on the other end when a screen isn't enough.
Khan Academy
88App
Free, deep, and genuinely good at unsticking a confused kid at 9pm — productive screen time, no ads.
EVERFI
78Website
A digital crash course in adulting that covers everything from checking accounts to mental health without the usual classroom boredom.
HeyTutor
72Website
Academic backup that actually shows up. It’s less 'educational game' and more 'human help' to bridge the learning gap.
AP Classroom/My AP
68Website
The official digital grind for AP students that is functionally mandatory for college credit, even if it feels like a 2010s web portal.
Varsity Tutors
68Website
A massive tutoring marketplace that delivers solid academic results if you can navigate the corporate billing and data-sharing layers.
AP Central
62Website
The digital home of the AP pressure cooker—part study hall, part gatekeeper, and for high schoolers, entirely mandatory.
Albert
58Website
The digital equivalent of a 500-page test-prep book—expert-vetted, strictly academic, and unapologetically boring.
College Board
51Website
The high-stakes administrative hub every college-bound student eventually has to wrestle with.
Learning support & accessibility · 2
Built for kids who learn differently
These are designed for students with significant disabilities, and they're on the approved list for a reason. TeachTown and Unique Learning System structure lessons around specific learning needs. If this is your kid, these are worth asking the school about by name.
Staying connected · 4
How the school reaches your phone
ClassDojo, Remind, ParentSquare, and Bloomz are the apps that ping you about a field-trip form or a note from the teacher. The trick with all four is the notification settings — dial them to the level that keeps you in the loop without burying you in pings you'll learn to ignore.
Remind
78App
School texts without handing over your personal cell number — reminders, absences, and field-trip forms in one place.
ClassDojo
73App
The cute monster app that bridges the school-home gap, but turns your kid's behavior into a digital leaderboard.
ParentSquare
68App
The one-stop shop for school forms, field trip fees, and the 'did you actually go to class?' notifications.
Bloomz
62App
The Swiss Army knife of classroom apps that tries to do everything—sometimes at the cost of your phone's battery and your sanity.
The full list
All 106 tools, sortable
Every approved learning tool, with its WISE score. Tap a column to sort. Personalize above to add a “WISE for You” column scored for your family.
- W
- — Wholesome: is it genuinely good for a kid, not just inoffensive?
- I
- — Imaginative: does it spark creativity, or just drill?
- S
- — Safe: data privacy plus age-appropriate content.
- E
- — Enriching: does it actually teach or build a skill, screen time well spent?
| Tool | WISE ↓ | W | I | S | E | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adobe Creative Cloud Express Professional design tools for kids, minus the subscription and the data-harvesting — real skills, real output. | 96 | 92 | 98 | 95 | 94 | Creativity & the arts |
Blender Professional-grade 3D creation for the price of zero dollars. It’s the ultimate creative power tool, provided your kid has the patience of a saint. | 96 | 95 | 100 | 98 | 100 | Creativity & the arts |
Garage Band The ultimate digital sandbox that turns a screen into a professional recording studio without the typical 'screen time' guilt. | 96 | 95 | 100 | 92 | 98 | Creativity & the arts |
Book Creator The digital equivalent of a blank notebook and a massive box of art supplies, without the glitter mess on your carpet. | 95 | 92 | 98 | 95 | 94 | Core platforms |
Desmos A visual math playground that makes a $100 TI-84 look like a dusty relic from the 1990s. | 95 | 95 | 92 | 98 | 96 | Math |
Code.org Where kids cross from consuming the screen to building what's on it — the best computer-science on-ramp going. | 95 | 92 | 94 | 98 | 96 | Science, coding & STEM |
ST Math A text-free, visual math puzzle game where a penguin named JiJi helps your kid actually understand numbers instead of just memorizing them. | 94 | 92 | 85 | 98 | 96 | Math |
Minecraft for Education Minecraft without the 'stranger danger' or the constant begging for Minecoins—the organic, cage-free version of the world's favorite sandbox. | 94 | 90 | 98 | 95 | 92 | Science, coding & STEM |
Project Lead the Way (PLTW) High-octane STEM curriculum that trades boring worksheets for building actual robots and medical tech. | 94 | 88 | 94 | 96 | 97 | Science, coding & STEM |
TED-Ed High-production-value animations that make your kid the smartest person at the dinner table without the school-day vibes. | 94 | 92 | 95 | 78 | 98 | Social studies, news & the wider world |
Ink Scape The free, professional-grade vector graphics editor that lets your kid build real design skills without a monthly subscription or data-mining. | 94 | 92 | 98 | 96 | 95 | Creativity & the arts |
WeVideo A powerhouse creative suite that turns kids from passive scrollers into actual producers, provided they have the patience for the timeline. | 93 | 88 | 96 | 92 | 94 | Creativity & the arts |
Microsoft OneNote A digital binder that actually stays organized, unlike the physical one currently decomposing at the bottom of your kid's backpack. | 92 | 88 | 92 | 96 | 94 | Core platforms |
Bookshare The world's largest digital library for kids who find standard books a literal headache. | 92 | 88 | 75 | 96 | 98 | Reading & literacy |
Reading Coach A private, AI-powered reading tutor that turns phonics practice into a 'choose your own adventure' story without the usual educational-app fluff. | 92 | 92 | 84 | 98 | 94 | Reading & literacy |
Texas Instruments The math world's indestructible brick that somehow still costs $100, but it’s the only distraction-free tech your kid actually needs for the SAT. | 92 | 88 | 82 | 98 | 95 | Math |
Big History Project A massive, free deep dive into 13.8 billion years that makes history feel like a science experiment instead of a list of names and dates. | 92 | 90 | 92 | 88 | 95 | Social studies, news & the wider world |
Library of Congress The ultimate digital attic of human history—minus the dust, the ads, and the commercial tracking. | 92 | 95 | 88 | 98 | 96 | Social studies, news & the wider world |
Canva The design app that makes school projects look like a professional agency did them—and teaches your kid how to prompt an AI without breaking it. | 92 | 88 | 96 | 82 | 94 | Creativity & the arts |
Creative Cloud by Adobe The industry-standard powerhouse that turns a screen into a professional workshop for design, film, and digital art. | 92 | 85 | 98 | 82 | 96 | Creativity & the arts |
Seesaw The digital fridge door where your kid actually gets to show off how they solved that math problem or read that story. | 91 | 88 | 92 | 98 | 85 | Core platforms |
Pebble Go A walled research garden for K–2: real facts a first-grader can actually read, with zero chance of a YouTube rabbit hole. | 91 | 95 | 78 | 100 | 92 | Reading & literacy |
BrainPop Jr. Annie and Moby make K–3 lessons something kids ask to watch — educational screen time that doesn't feel like a chore. | 91 | 92 | 84 | 98 | 90 | Social studies, news & the wider world |
Britannica School Vetted research that keeps kids clear of SEO spam and confidently-wrong chatbots. | 91 | 92 | 74 | 98 | 96 | Social studies, news & the wider world |
Smithsonian Magazine The 'wait, how does that actually work?' corner of the internet — curiosity that never feels like homework. | 91 | 90 | 82 | 92 | 96 | Social studies, news & the wider world |
The New Yorker Long-form reporting, sharp humor, and fiction that makes a teen feel a little smarter for finishing it. | 91 | 68 | 88 | 72 | 98 | Social studies, news & the wider world |
The New York Times Serious news without the algorithmic sludge, plus a Learning Network built to make kids sharper readers. | 90 | 82 | 75 | 88 | 96 | Social studies, news & the wider world |
Amira Tutor An AI reading coach that actually listens, giving kids real-time phonics help without the data-mining baggage of big tech. | 89 | 88 | 62 | 98 | 94 | Reading & literacy |
Bookelicious A book discovery engine that uses cute avatars and smart AI to help kids find the stories they'll actually finish. | 89 | 88 | 78 | 94 | 92 | Reading & literacy |
Brainingcamp The digital version of those plastic math blocks, minus the clutter and the privacy concerns. | 89 | 90 | 72 | 98 | 94 | Math |
ExploreLearning High-quality STEM simulations and math mastery tools that actually require a brain, making it the rare 'educational' screen time worth the minutes. | 89 | 82 | 88 | 96 | 90 | Science, coding & STEM |
Gizmos Virtual lab simulations that actually make sense, letting kids break things in science class without the cleanup. | 89 | 85 | 88 | 96 | 92 | Science, coding & STEM |
JASON Learning Real-world STEM missions that trade dry textbooks for direct lines to actual explorers and oceanographers. | 89 | 92 | 88 | 96 | 94 | Science, coding & STEM |
BrainPop The only educational site your kid won't actually fight you on, thanks to a dry-witted robot and his long-suffering human pal. | 89 | 88 | 74 | 78 | 95 | Social studies, news & the wider world |
Common Sense Education Teaches kids to exist online without losing their privacy, their focus, or their grip on what's real. | 89 | 92 | 68 | 98 | 96 | Social studies, news & the wider world |
Google Translate The closest thing we have to a Star Trek universal translator—just watch out for the homework shortcuts. | 89 | 85 | 92 | 90 | 88 | Social studies, news & the wider world |
Chess - Play & Learn The undisputed heavyweight champion of chess apps, packed with world-class lessons and a social layer that requires a parent's eye. | 88 | 82 | 70 | 65 | 96 | Science, coding & STEM |
Gale Cengage Learning The anti-Google for school projects: a massive, vetted library of real sources that keeps your kid away from the SEO-slop of the open web. | 88 | 85 | 65 | 98 | 92 | Social studies, news & the wider world |
NPR Smart, substantive, zero fluff — the habit that raises a kid who actually knows what's going on. | 88 | 85 | 88 | 68 | 96 | Social studies, news & the wider world |
PBS Learning Media The massive, free digital library where high-quality PBS documentaries meet the standards-aligned lessons teachers actually use. | 88 | 98 | 74 | 96 | 92 | Social studies, news & the wider world |
QuaverEd The digital classroom suite that actually makes music and health lessons fun without the usual ed-tech boredom. | 88 | 88 | 84 | 96 | 85 | Creativity & the arts |
Khan Academy Free, deep, and genuinely good at unsticking a confused kid at 9pm — productive screen time, no ads. | 88 | 85 | 60 | 96 | 94 | Tutoring, test prep & college |
Adobe Firefly The 'adult in the room' of AI art. It’s ethical, professional, and built for kids who want to create rather than just consume. | 87 | 78 | 94 | 88 | 84 | Creativity & the arts |
Lumio (formerly SMART Learning Suite) A collaborative classroom tool that turns boring PDFs into interactive games and group projects without the usual privacy headaches. | 85 | 88 | 72 | 96 | 82 | Core platforms |
BrainPop ELL Finally, an educational site that doesn't feel like a digital worksheet. Moby the robot helps kids master English through actual stories, not just drills. | 85 | 88 | 72 | 92 | 90 | Social studies, news & the wider world |
BrainPop Espanol: Película del Día Tim and Moby tackle the world's big questions in Spanish, one five-minute movie at a time. | 85 | 88 | 62 | 96 | 91 | Social studies, news & the wider world |
Activate Learning A heavy-hitting science curriculum that replaces boring textbooks with hands-on investigations and digital modeling. | 84 | 85 | 82 | 94 | 90 | Science, coding & STEM |
Carolina Science Online Science class goes digital without the brain rot—think virtual labs and Smithsonian-backed STEM that actually connects to real-world kits. | 84 | 85 | 74 | 98 | 88 | Science, coding & STEM |
US Holocaust Memorial Museum The definitive, unflinching digital archive of the Holocaust—essential history that demands a parent in the room. | 84 | 75 | 62 | 55 | 98 | Social studies, news & the wider world |
Wayside Publishing Digital language textbooks that prioritize real-world communication over boring grammar drills. | 84 | 82 | 68 | 95 | 90 | Social studies, news & the wider world |
 TeachTown A heavy-hitter for special education that actually respects the kid's pace, though it's definitely school work. | 84 | 88 | 62 | 96 | 92 | Learning support & accessibility |
Nearpod The digital classroom's answer to the boring slideshow, featuring VR field trips and quizzes that actually tell the teacher if your kid is paying attention. | 82 | 78 | 72 | 96 | 84 | Core platforms |
SMARTNotebook (Smart Tech) The software that turned the classroom whiteboard into a giant iPad—for better or worse. | 82 | 82 | 85 | 92 | 78 | Core platforms |
Amira Learning An AI reading tutor that actually listens to your kid read, providing the kind of immediate phonics feedback that usually requires a human sitting right there. | 82 | 80 | 45 | 98 | 88 | Reading & literacy |
Amplify The digital backbone of the modern classroom that actually cares about the science of reading and making math less of a total drag. | 82 | 72 | 68 | 96 | 89 | Reading & literacy |
BookNook Live, human-led tutoring for reading and math that trades mindless drills for actual conversation and connection. | 82 | 88 | 42 | 96 | 92 | Reading & literacy |
Raz-Plus A massive, school-vetted digital library that turns reading practice into a quest for stars and avatar gear. | 82 | 78 | 52 | 96 | 84 | Reading & literacy |
Reading A-Z Leveled reading that follows the science of reading — effective, if a little like doing taxes for 7-year-olds. | 82 | 88 | 42 | 98 | 94 | Reading & literacy |
Sora App Your kid's school library on their phone—just make sure they're downloading the OverDrive reader and not the OpenAI video generator. | 82 | 88 | 72 | 65 | 94 | Reading & literacy |
Zearn A rigorous, no-nonsense math platform that actually teaches the 'why' behind the numbers without the annoying bells and whistles of typical 'educational' games. | 82 | 78 | 62 | 96 | 89 | Math |
BrainPOP Science Science homework that swaps dry textbooks for 3D simulations and a legit framework for critical thinking. | 82 | 82 | 75 | 90 | 85 | Science, coding & STEM |
National Archives The ultimate 'receipts' for American history—dry, deep, and completely free of the algorithm's nonsense. | 82 | 90 | 70 | 100 | 98 | Social studies, news & the wider world |
Discovery Education The Discovery Channel’s academic cousin. High-quality videos and virtual field trips that make school-assigned screen time actually worth the battery life. | 81 | 78 | 68 | 96 | 82 | Core platforms |
STEMScopes The digital science lab your kid is likely using for school—it's heavy on inquiry and surprisingly decent for a textbook replacement. | 81 | 72 | 78 | 92 | 84 | Science, coding & STEM |
 Unique Learning System The gold standard for special education that makes the general curriculum accessible, even if it feels a bit like a digital workbook. | 81 | 82 | 52 | 98 | 88 | Learning support & accessibility |
PlayPosit Turns passive YouTube watching into active learning by making kids actually answer questions before the video keeps playing. | 80 | 78 | 52 | 94 | 84 | Core platforms |
Benchmark Education The heavy-duty literacy engine your school probably uses to turn 'learning to read' into 'reading to learn' through the Science of Reading. | 80 | 82 | 58 | 88 | 91 | Reading & literacy |
Formative A digital classroom tool that swaps boring paper worksheets for interactive lessons with instant teacher feedback. | 78 | 75 | 55 | 94 | 82 | Core platforms |
Actively Learn A digital reading platform that stops kids from 'zombie scrolling' through their homework by embedding questions directly into the text. | 78 | 72 | 42 | 96 | 84 | Reading & literacy |
DreamBox Reading Plus Reading-stamina training that works — and feels every bit like the workout it is. | 78 | 72 | 45 | 96 | 88 | Reading & literacy |
NoRedInk Grammar drills and essay scaffolding that swap boring textbook sentences for ones about your kid's favorite celebrities and characters. | 78 | 72 | 58 | 96 | 84 | Reading & literacy |
NASA Authentic satellite data for future climate scientists and kids who think spreadsheets are a personality trait. | 78 | 88 | 65 | 98 | 92 | Science, coding & STEM |
EVERFI A digital crash course in adulting that covers everything from checking accounts to mental health without the usual classroom boredom. | 78 | 88 | 42 | 95 | 85 | Tutoring, test prep & college |
Remind School texts without handing over your personal cell number — reminders, absences, and field-trip forms in one place. | 78 | 88 | 20 | 96 | 65 | Staying connected |
Lexia Core5 The 'eat your vegetables' of reading apps—scientifically solid, mostly boring, and probably already assigned by your kid's teacher. | 76 | 75 | 30 | 95 | 82 | Reading & literacy |
DeltaMath Math practice that explains the 'why' when you're stuck, saving kids from the 'I did 50 problems wrong' realization the next morning. | 74 | 72 | 22 | 96 | 84 | Math |
Vocabulary The smartest word-drill site on the web that swaps boring rote memorization for actual reading comprehension. | 74 | 68 | 45 | 72 | 88 | Social studies, news & the wider world |
First in Math The digital heir to the '24' game that turns mental math drills into a high-speed sticker hunt. | 73 | 72 | 38 | 96 | 82 | Math |
ClassDojo The cute monster app that bridges the school-home gap, but turns your kid's behavior into a digital leaderboard. | 73 | 72 | 62 | 88 | 70 | Staying connected |
Learning A-Z The digital library your kid’s teacher probably assigned—safe, effective for literacy, but definitely feels like homework. | 72 | 68 | 35 | 98 | 76 | Reading & literacy |
Raz-Kids The classic leveled-reading app that turns literacy practice into a space-themed quest for stars and robot parts. | 72 | 68 | 45 | 98 | 76 | Reading & literacy |
Adobe Acrobat Reader A three-ring binder and a highlighter in app form — unexciting, essential, mostly harmless. | 72 | 85 | 42 | 88 | 72 | Creativity & the arts |
HeyTutor Academic backup that actually shows up. It’s less 'educational game' and more 'human help' to bridge the learning gap. | 72 | 68 | 32 | 88 | 82 | Tutoring, test prep & college |
Beable A school-assigned literacy platform that tries to make reading drills feel like a career-building RPG. | 68 | 72 | 55 | 92 | 74 | Reading & literacy |
Heinemann Industrial-grade school literacy tools that get the job done but won't win any awards for fun. | 68 | 65 | 35 | 92 | 80 | Reading & literacy |
Imagine Math Adaptive math drills with a secret weapon: live, bilingual teachers available to help when your kid hits a wall. | 68 | 62 | 35 | 92 | 78 | Math |
AP Classroom/My AP The official digital grind for AP students that is functionally mandatory for college credit, even if it feels like a 2010s web portal. | 68 | 62 | 15 | 92 | 78 | Tutoring, test prep & college |
Varsity Tutors A massive tutoring marketplace that delivers solid academic results if you can navigate the corporate billing and data-sharing layers. | 68 | 65 | 40 | 72 | 78 | Tutoring, test prep & college |
ParentSquare The one-stop shop for school forms, field trip fees, and the 'did you actually go to class?' notifications. | 68 | 70 | 10 | 96 | 60 | Staying connected |
HMH (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) A heavy school-issued literacy engine — functional, mandated, strictly for getting the work done. | 66 | 65 | 40 | 95 | 72 | Reading & literacy |
Imagine Language and Literacy A heavy-duty literacy drill tool that's a lifesaver for English learners but can feel like a digital treadmill for everyone else. | 65 | 68 | 35 | 94 | 72 | Reading & literacy |
Lexia PowerUp Adaptive, science-backed reading drills for older kids — effective, and exactly why your middle-schooler is annoyed at their iPad. | 65 | 68 | 15 | 95 | 82 | Reading & literacy |
Reading Plus Builds reading stamina the way laps build endurance — it works, but your kid won't touch it unless a teacher assigns it. | 64 | 62 | 28 | 96 | 74 | Reading & literacy |
DreamBox Learning Math The adaptive math tutor your school probably assigned—effective for drills, but it definitely still feels like school. | 64 | 72 | 35 | 95 | 68 | Math |
myLexia The educator-facing brain behind Lexia’s reading programs—great for data-hungry teachers, but often a slog for the kids in the digital literacy mines. | 62 | 60 | 15 | 98 | 65 | Reading & literacy |
AP Central The digital home of the AP pressure cooker—part study hall, part gatekeeper, and for high schoolers, entirely mandatory. | 62 | 60 | 20 | 92 | 75 | Tutoring, test prep & college |
Bloomz The Swiss Army knife of classroom apps that tries to do everything—sometimes at the cost of your phone's battery and your sanity. | 62 | 68 | 32 | 88 | 50 | Staying connected |
Adobe Illustrator Draw A legacy vector drawing tool that’s great for aspiring designers—if you can still get it to run. | 58 | 82 | 88 | 62 | 85 | Creativity & the arts |
Albert The digital equivalent of a 500-page test-prep book—expert-vetted, strictly academic, and unapologetically boring. | 58 | 62 | 12 | 96 | 74 | Tutoring, test prep & college |
YouTube Kids The training-wheels version of the world's biggest video site—safer than the main app, but still a masterclass in keeping your kid glued to a screen. | 54 | 58 | 42 | 62 | 55 | Social studies, news & the wider world |
College Board The high-stakes administrative hub every college-bound student eventually has to wrestle with. | 51 | 42 | 12 | 82 | 68 | Tutoring, test prep & college |
Edgenuity Self-paced credit-recovery coursework: it gets you to the finish line, but nobody enjoys the scenery. | 48 | 40 | 10 | 92 | 50 | Core platforms |
IXL A digital drill sergeant for K-12 standards that trades creative spark for rote fluency and a high-stress scoring system. | 48 | 42 | 12 | 82 | 58 | Math |
i-Ready The digital equivalent of a stack of photocopied worksheets—except these ones track your kid's every click and never seem to end. | 38 | 42 | 12 | 45 | 52 | Math |
Canvas The digital backpack your kid can't lose, but will definitely complain about. | 32 | 50 | 10 | 35 | 40 | Core platforms |
Imagine Edgenuity Products The academic equivalent of a frozen dinner: it technically fulfills the requirement, but nobody's asking for seconds. | 32 | 35 | 15 | 75 | 40 | Core platforms |
FAQ
Questions parents ask
What does it mean that DC Public Schools "approved" an app?
Approval means the tool cleared the district's data-privacy and compliance review — how it handles student data under COPPA and FERPA. A contract is in place and the vendor treats kid data acceptably. It is not a judgment that the tool is educationally good or right for any particular child.
Is an approved tool safe for my child?
Safe for their data, yes — that's what approval checks. Whether the content and design are safe and age-appropriate is a separate question, which is what the WISE "Safe" score (0–100) rates on each tool's page.
Which of these tools are actually worth my kid's time?
Sort the table by WISE score. The top of the list — tools like Khan Academy, Code.org, and Desmos — earn high marks for building real skills. Lower-scoring tools tend toward drill and digital worksheets. Sign in to re-rank the whole list for your own child.
How is the WISE score calculated?
WISE rates four things 0–100 — Wholesome, Imaginative, Safe, Enriching — using each tool's description, age range, and current parent-facing research. The four combine into a single WISE score so you can compare tools at a glance.
Not in DC?
We can build one of these for your school district's approved list too.