Priorities
EdTech Quality Collaborative
Schools, districts, and states have long lacked a consistent, trusted approach for assessing edtech quality. The EdTech Quality Collaborative (EQC) brings together organizations with distinct expertise to address this challenge. We’re working to provide education leaders with a comprehensive evaluation system for navigating an increasingly complex edtech marketplace.
In 2024, the Collaborative launched the Framework for EdTech Quality Indicators (FEQI): a research-grounded framework designed to support smarter procurement and implementation decisions. Since then, EQC organizations have worked directly with education leaders nationwide to strengthen their evaluation processes using FEQI.
Five Edtech Quality Indicators
SAFE
Edtech products must establish robust data privacy and security measures to protect student and educator data and safeguard against unauthorized access or data breaches. This includes adhering to industry standards and laws to create a secure learning environment and adopting principles of data minimization (only collecting necessary data) and data transparency (users understand which data are collected for what purpose).
EVIDENCE-BASED
Edtech product design, implementation, and claims of effectiveness need to be grounded in rigorous research and evidence-based practices as specified by the ESSA Tiers of Evidence. Providers should engage in research-driven design, empirical validation, demonstrated effectiveness, and alignment with established educational standards.
INCLUSIVE
Edtech products must prioritize accessibility, inclusivity, and equitable design to ensure they are acceptable to learners from diverse backgrounds and with a broad range of learner variability. This includes ensuring edtech products are accessible for all learners, do not promote existing stereotypes, create new ones, or prevent students from acquiring accurate information because of biased algorithms.
USABLE
Edtech products must be designed to be easily usable by educators and students to ensure a seamless digital experience. If the product is not easy to use, it creates an unnecessary barrier and educators and students will struggle to use the tool.
INTEROPERABLE
Edtech products must seamlessly connect to other technologies within a school’s digital ecosystem. This is accomplished by adhering to established interoperability standards that ensure secure exchange and allow for the beneficial aggregation of data to inform instruction and personalize learning.
SETDA Resources
Easing the Burden on Schools: Integrating the Five EdTech Quality Indicators Into State Procurement Processes
This guide offers essential guidance for states and districts in procuring high-quality educational technology products. It outlines five key quality indicators—Safe, Evidence-Based, Inclusive, Usable, and Interoperable—providing a framework for assessing and selecting products that meet educational needs while ensuring compliance. This report also offers recommendations for integrating these indicators into state procurement processes.
K-12 EdTech Quality Action Toolkit: Empowering Leaders to Further Leverage the Five EdTech Quality Indicators
This toolkit picks up where SETDA’s guide left off by encouraging use of the FEQI in various contexts outside of the detect procurement processes, including communication strategy, professional learning, and product marketing.
What’s Next?
In early 2026, members of the EQC, in partnership with EdSolutions and Delivery Associates, are conducting a landscape scan of U.S.-based and international edtech validators, along with a needs assessment of education leaders and procurement officers. This work will inform a forthcoming report, validator directory, and practical procurement implementation guide.
The 5 Edtech Quality Indicators framework is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0