Situation
The Edmonds School District serves more than 20,000 students just north of Seattle. Like many large districts, Edmonds invested in many edtech tools, but struggled to evaluate whether those tools delivered results. Which tools were being used? And were they positively impacting student achievement?
Tracking tool effectiveness proved impossible. And when it came time to decide whether or not to renew high-cost tools, they had no foundation of reliable data to stand on. “All we could do was listen to what the vendor was telling us,” said Chris Bailey, Director of Technology.
Vendor reports and gut feelings weren’t enough to justify six-figure renewal decisions. The district needed a clear, internal view of what was being used, what was working, and the relationship between the two.
We don’t want to commit to a five-year contract without evidence. [With LearnPlatform], we can assess outcomes for ourselves, and the data will tell us whether we should keep going.
Chris Bailey
Director of Technology, Edmonds School District, WA
Insights
Working with the LearnPlatform research team, Edmonds began Rapid-cycle Evaluations (RCE), which shifted their thinking. “We started with, ‘Who’s using this?’ Then, ‘Are they using it enough?’” said Bailey. “Eventually, we got to, ‘Are students growing?’ And that’s the question that really mattered.”
Through dozens of rapid-cycle evaluations powered by LearnPlatform, district leadership uncovered key insights:
- Usage ≠ impact: Just because a tool is used frequently doesn’t mean it translates to student growth, prompting deeper analysis of factors like time in the tool or modules completed.
- Internal data changes conversations: Instead of relying on vendor claims or best guesses, the team could lean on independent data when aligning district leaders, staff, and the school board.
“We’ve started asking questions we never thought we could answer,” said Bailey. “And that’s changed the way we think about both new tools and tools we’ve had for years.”
“Every time we did a study, we learned more about what was important to the Edmonds team,” said Amanda Cadran, RCE Program Director at LearnPlatform. “And that shaped the next study and the study after that, which is how the process works best.”
That iterative mindset changed Edmonds’ approach to evaluation. Instead of static snapshots, every RCE builds on the last, which has helped the district refine what success means and how to measure it.
Solution
Edmonds built a repeatable, data-driven evaluation model with LearnPlatform at the center. First, they streamlined tool requests and approvals, replacing Google Forms and spreadsheets with a centralized system. With real-time visibility, they shifted to rapid- cycle evaluation to go beyond usage to the impact of edtech tools.
In partnership with the LearnPlatform research team at Instructure, they looked at engagement and fidelity patterns across grade bands and time. That work led to a validated research design, which allowed them to connect student outcomes to usage fidelity. This level of analysis aligned with Edmonds’ goal to inform implementation and renewal strategies and only happened because the district committed to iteration.
Working with LearnPlatform gave us the confidence to walk into a board meeting with clear, independent data on a tool's effectiveness. The entire conversation changes to focus on the impact we see instead of questioning whether we should trust claims that vendors make.
Jason Aillaud
Director of Student Learning, Edmonds School District, WA
Outcomes
Edmonds didn’t rely on anecdotal evidence or vendor data when it came time to consider renewing a high-cost tool. The RCEs gave them clear evidence to present to the school board: students who met usage benchmarks showed clear growth. So they set clear expectations for the year ahead.
The shift from instinct to evidence has changed how Edmonds approaches renewals and future purchases. “Working with LearnPlatform gave us the confidence to walk into a board meeting with clear, independent data on a tool's effectiveness,” Jason Aillaud, Director of Student Learning, said. “The entire conversation changes to focus on the impact we see instead of questioning whether we should trust claims that vendors make.”
Results Edmonds can act on:
Repeatable evaluation process using RCE for ongoing decision-making
Increased trust and alignment across leadership and the school board
Renewing edtech tools with evidence and confidence
A framework for future purchases with clear expectations and metrics
After four years of rapid-cycle evaluations, Edmonds and Instructure have built a partnership based on trust, iteration, and shared goals, and a process for edtech clarity that has helped district leaders make confident, evidence-based decisions.
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