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Limited awareness of what information/evidence is available is one of the biggest challenges to districts according to 43% of core curriculum purchasers and 49% of EdTech purchasers.
Accessible
Through research we unearth 4 common barriers faced by evidence creators.
01
There’s low awareness of where to get all the types of evidence sources that can be used to inform decision-making.
I don’t think people are very aware of a reputable tool/process out there.
— Chief Technology Officer, MN
02
Decisions makers often lack the time and cognitive bandwidth to dive deeply into the resources that inform adoption/purchasing decisions.
Time is one of the frequent challenges to using information/evidence in the adoption process (32%) and EdTech purchasing (39%).
Time is the biggest barrier, to really digging into a product and making the best choice.
— Executive Director of Teaching,Learning and Accountability, MO
03
Users may have uncertainties about the organization and privacy concerns when many questions about their role and occupation are mandatory to access a given resource.
A quarter of core curriculum and 39% of EdTech purchasers noted that simply accessing information/evidence was difficult.
Paying for access is an issue; I don’t really find organizations or big organizations that often really understand what we’re trying to do.
— Assistant Superintendent,Curriculum and Innovation, IL
04
Highly specific questions can arise for resources, and individuals may not have the availability to submit their question via email submission or find the answer to their inquiry online.
37% of EdTech and 38% of core curriculum purchasers note that a challenge to using information/evidence to inform decisions stems from limited trust in the reliability of available information/evidence.
When you ask somebody, you don’t need to wait for a response… for clarifying questions.
— Director of Technology and Assessment, IL
A principle as a solution
Based on these barriers, we came to understand that evidence should be
Accessible
Frictionless to obtain
Digital accessibility is fundamental, ensuring equitable access to information and fostering inclusivity for all. For this reason, evidence should be accessible to everyone, as often as possible, with minimal steps required.
In this toolkit, the term “accessible” refers to evidence that is easy to navigate and comprehend, rather than specifically addressing digital accessibility for differently abled individuals. Our focus is not to diminish the importance of ensuring information accessibility for people with diverse needs. This term is just used to reflect our research findings, which emphasize the necessity for evidence to be easily obtainable and user-friendly to effectively engage district buyers once discovered.
Make your evidence accessible
Explore the tools on our toolkit that will help you to enhance your evidence availability.
Explore other principles
Have questions?
We work with organizations of all kinds to develop customized solutions to social challenges.
This project was built in partnership with The Decision Lab, a socially-conscious applied research firm that generates transformational change for people, products, and organizations using behavioral science.