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Only 20% of EdTech purchasers considered research conducted by vendors on their products to be a trustworthy source of information about the quality of products.
Desireable
Through research we unearth 4 common barriers faced by evidence creators.
01
Purchasers care about how an organization goes about producing the content and/or products that they create.
I’d like to know a bit more about the reviewers. Who is on the panel? What is that panel’s background? In what kind of districts does that panel have experience working?
— Teacher Leader, IL
02
When decision-makers rely on word-of-mouth as evidence, they’re unlikely to be asking questions to their peers in an objective or standardized way.
The majority of both core curriculum (82%) and EdTech purchasers (94%) were significantly more likely to agree that their district considers peer recommendations, including recommendations from other districts, when selecting instructional materials.
Before purchase, we look to the case studies that vendors provide.
— Director of Technology, NY
03
Individuals may not sense that their evidence use is recognized or acknowledged, making them less likely to repeat evidence engagement.
Only 68% of EdTech purchasers agree that their selection team is motivated to apply evidence and data to inform the assessment and purchasing process.
We often don’t rely on ranks more so than hard data because people in the district — especially teachers — don’t care about data. There’s little incentive for us to use it.
— Teacher Leader, PA
04
Evidence users may not consider new evidence if there’s no clear signal that others are using high-quality alternatives.
93% of EdTech and 78% of core curriculum purchasers believe that their district should consider peer recommendations, including recommendations from other districts, when selecting EdTech products/core curriculum.
I rely heavily on feedback from others in the field.
— Director of Technology, NY
A principle as a solution
Based on these barriers, we came to understand that evidence should be
Desirable
Frame information as a useful, trustworthy, and rewarding source to leverage
Evidence should be framed as a useful and rewarding source to leverage. Lean on the motivations, goals, and preferences for resources by users.
Make your evidence Desirable
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.