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The Importance of Evidence for Solution Providers
How Levered Uses Evidence to Measure and Promote Product Effectiveness
Instructional software provider, Levered Learning (Levered), offers a competency-based, online math curriculum and instructional system for 3rd to 5th-grade students. Levered, like other providers serving the K-12 market, aims to make the teaching and learning experience better through use of their product. Its founders were invested in building a product based on research and wanted to build credibility and trust with their prospective customers that this was the case. As a result, from the very beginning, they wanted to measure and prove their products' effectiveness through research.
Aside from their own desire for evidence, Levered leadership also recognized that more and more potential K-12 district and school customers were asking for evidence of effectiveness upfront. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and current ESSER funding requires federal funds to be used on evidence-based tools. Additionally, the rapid growth of edtech use and the sheer number of edtech options available make deciding which tools might work best for their students, especially challenging. Evidence reduces the uncertainty inherent in the buying process.
Getting Started with Research: Finding the Right Partner
The company first became familiar with LearnPlatform through its work with AWS EdStart, a startup accelerator for edtech companies run by Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS wanted to support early stage companies in building a foundation of evidence aligned with ESSA. This aligned well with Levered’s values, research foundation and desire to effectively document and communicate how student outcomes have been achieved with its product. While Levered acknowledges that district administrators, teachers and families benefit from knowing that its product works for their students, it also recognizes the need to share why and how its product improves student outcomes.
At the same time, traditional education research, often thought of as a randomized control trial, can take far longer than what is needed to keep up with the constant and rapid evolution of edtech in the classrooms. Not only does this time-consuming process cause delays in decision making, but it also is not within reach for most edtech companies. For this reason, ESSA outlines four levels of evidence, providing a pathway for companies to build an evidence base over time.
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
Through AWS, Levered was introduced to LearnPlatform’s IMPACT-Ready™ certification program, (IMPACT-Ready). IMPACT-Ready offered a way for Levered to clearly communicate their commitment to evidence and ongoing research, as well as meet the requirements for ESSA Level IV - “Demonstrates a Rationale.” Having it provided by a third party, LearnPlatform, added credibility to the ultimate report.
The program provided Levered with a shareable logic model that showcases how Levered impacts student learning, along with an ESSA Level IV Report. The Levered logic model was developed to meet the ESSA Level IV requirements with annual reviews and updates to support sales and grant proposals.
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
Doing the Work, Collaboratively
Working with LearnPlatform’s research team has already shifted many of the critical conversations and product implementations outside and within the organization, guiding conversations and decisions that affect Levered’s customers. The conversations within the Levered team have also become more streamlined – as having access to multiple data points and research produces clear ways to show partners best practices in implementation, measurement and expected outcomes.
This work has helped us internally make strategic decisions about what important data we should be tracking. It has also helped us make decisions which, in turn, helps administrators and teachers. Ultimately, it’s about giving teachers the data they need to make data-driven decisions.
Lara Triona
Differentiating Levered in the Market
With districts and states required to spend federal and stimulus funding on evidence-based interventions, Levered is now better equipped to fit into the plans of current and future customers as an evidence-based solution. With this ongoing research and a sharable logic model, districts were able to form a clear line between what Levered does and how federal funds can be used for purchasing the solution. The ongoing research allows this tech-supported program to provide teachers with best practices for product implementation.
This support further advances the iterative nature of research, allowing for Levered’s team to improve customer experiences and student outcomes. Evidence that sits on a shelf doesn’t have a lot of value – using, analyzing and taking action with research to make changes to product development and implementation recommendations highlight the true value of evidence in education.
LearnPlatform’s ESSA Level IV certification validation is a data point we can provide to partners that shows there has been deep reflection into understanding how Levered can be effective in design and implementation. The logic model gave a clear way to show what parts of the program need to be implemented to create these outcomes.
Mitch Slater
What The Team at Levered Will Do Next
With so many products in the K-12 edtech market today, solution providers must show an evidence base that aligns with industry standards and regulations and also demonstrates effectiveness and produces expected student outcomes. The team at Levered has charted a path to continuously showcasing evidence to meet student needs.
Going forward, the team will continue to follow its developed logic model to keep a pulse on feedback and evidence, sharing insights with customers. Future plans for the company also include remaining laser-focused on its product’s impact. By taking the evidence found with LearnPlatform and the ESSA Level IV logic model, Levered will inform their next actions to improve product implementation with the ultimate goal of maximizing the student learning experience. The company is committed to continuing to align its roadmap with such research, evidence and feedback.
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