The struggles of educational software - Product Manager Scholastic Employee Review

4.0
Jun 16, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Scholastic can be a great place to work. They do a good job of taking care of their employees: the benefits are good, they value education (if you have a master's degree, for example). As a massive company, there is a lot of room for advancement. There are also many opportunities for travel, conferences, etc. A lot of the job was very pleasing in the workaday sense. Scholastic maintains a variety of businesses - from publishing to software - and it seems like almost anyone can find a place in the company.

Cons

You're generally working on products that serve some useful function in the world. However, at the same time, you do get the sense that Scholastic sales hammers the US educational system for as much money as possible -- especially with regard to the software products. Like any software maker, the goal is to sell, sell, sell, then do it all over again, regardless of whether schools really need all of this software. Once you see this giant machine moving forward for a while you realize that it's not always in the educational system's best interests. Our nation's schools might be better off hiring better teachers at higher salaries rather than purchase multi-million-dollar software systems. Just like any company, you want to be on the right team at Scholastic. I was unfortunate to be working on a losing team (our product was consistently unprofitable) with weak management. I strongly disliked the person I was reporting to, and the person on the next level up as well. So that was a bummer. But I did get the sense that I could have found another home elsewhere in the company that I could have been happy at; I did have friends in other areas that totally loved their jobs. But ultimately I took a job at a different company and haven't really looked back.

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5.0
Jun 26, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

positive working environment, good people

Cons

great company to work for; no complaints

2.0
Jun 11, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Remote work and the clients are very nice to work with.

Cons

In my experience, the company's compensation practices lacked transparency and accountability. When employees asked questions about how their earnings, bonuses, or compensation were calculated, clear answers were often difficult to obtain. Decisions affecting employee pay were made without adequate explanation, and requests for clarification frequently went unresolved. What I found particularly concerning was the apparent disconnect between employee compensation outcomes and management compensation. Employees regularly experienced reduced bonuses or earnings, while management and executive leadership appeared largely unaffected by the same business decisions. This created the perception that the financial impact of those decisions was being borne primarily by employees rather than those making them. After repeatedly seeking explanations and receiving few meaningful answers, I lost confidence in the fairness and transparency of the compensation process.

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