Worldwide sales of tablets jumped nearly 12 percent this quarter over a year ago, fueled by strong growth of the U.S. market and back-to-school purchasing, according to a new analysis.

The growth in the U.S. tablet market, at 18.5 percent for the third quarter of 2014, was even stronger than it was in the global arena, said the Massachusetts-based  International Data Corporation, a company that researches market trends in information and consumer technology and other areas.

Apple has seen a continued decline in sales from its iPad product line, but it remains atop the worldwide tablet market, shipping 12.3 million units in the third quarter, according to the IDC. Samsung maintained the number-two spot, with 9.9 million units shipped, followed by Asus, Lenovo, and RCA. (See IDC’s breakdown of the sales in the chart below.)

An analyst for IDC said that while low-cost tablet vendors are moving a lot of units, it would take a major shift in the market for that growth to be a source of worry for Apple.

“The top vendors, like Apple, continue to rake in the dollars,” said Jitesh Ubrani, a senior research analyst at Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker, a part of IDC, in a statement. “A sub-$100 tablet simply isn’t sustainable. Apple knows this, and it’s likely the reason they aren’t concerned with market-share erosion.” 

Turning to Dealmaking: In other news worth noting from the education market, a new report shows that through three-quarters of 2014, the overall value of education-related mergers and acquistions through the the third quarter of 2014 spiked, jumping from $6 billion to $8 billion, over last year. The total number of deals during that time period, meanwhile, dropped slightly, from 223 to 217, according to a report from Berkery Noyes, an independent investment bank.

The biggest dealmaker so far this year has been Providence Equity Partners, which has made nine industry transactions so far in 2014, according to Berkery Noyes.