ESSA Evidence Badges

ESSA Evidence Badges: your shortcut to verified research.

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires that federal funds support interventions meeting one of four levels of evidence. ESSA Evidence Badges™ help you quickly see a solution’s research base, which is independently validated by third parties, so you can make confident, compliant decisions faster.

For K-12 education agencies

For edtech partners

We have an ethical commitment that what we're providing for students and teachers is going to make a positive difference in their learning. You need to do that through evidence.

Lara Triona

VP of Learning Sciences, Levered

Understand the ESSA Levels of Evidence

ESSA Level IV: Demonstrates rationale

• Research-based theory of change explaining expected student impact
• Commitment to ongoing research to build the evidence base
• Eligible for some federal funding

ESSA Level III: Promising evidence

• Positive impact shown in a correlational study at a single site
• Eligible for all years of federal funding

ESSA Level II: Moderate evidence

• Positive impact shown in a quasi-experimental study across multiple sites
• Uses comparison groups without random assignment
• Eligible for all years of federal funding

ESSA Level I: Strong evidence

• Positive impact shown in randomized controlled trials across multiple sites
• Uses randomized groups to reduce bias
• Eligible for all years of federal funding

For educators

Put ESSA evidence badges to work

ESSA Evidence Badges streamline vetting by surfacing a solution’s evidence base and research commitment.

• Look for badges on edtech partners’ websites and materials or search for badged solutions in the LearnPlatform Community Library
• Ask edtech partners for ESSA-aligned evidence and research agendas
• Require ESSA-aligned research in your RFPs
• Run rapid-cycle evaluations on priority products in your own context

For edtech partners 

What's behind the badges?

ESSA Evidence Badges indicate that a study of a solution meets ESSA’s evidence criteria. Each badge shows the ESSA level met, a brief level description, and the year of the study.

• Studies are designed, executed, or independently validated for ESSA alignment
• Expert researchers utilizing a rubric-based process
• More badges equates to a broader research base
• Edtech partners can showcase ESSA-aligned research on their Product Details page in the LearnPlatform library

The ESSA Level IV certification is built on establishing and demonstrating rationale and how different features of your product work to help you achieve the goals you set. Being able to do so from a trusted third-party source is a great opportunity.

Mitch Slater

Founder and CEO, Levered

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