U N I V E R S A L E V I D E N C E R E P O R T
Standardizing ESSA-aligned research reporting to inform K-12 decisions, policies, product development and more.
What is the Universal Evidence Report?
The Universal Evidence Report (UER) is an open source form that simplifies reporting and sharing of evidence. The UER makes showing and sharing evidence feasible, computer-readable and accessible to education professionals. The UER simplifies and standardizes, but does not replace, the information contained in education research.
Anyone can use this form to summarize and share their Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)-aligned evidence which, until now, has been a mostly undefined process. Universal Evidence Reports provide K-12 stakeholders with a shared fact base, enabling research to be actionable and accelerating its application to improve teaching and learning. Read FAQ.
“Research not only needs to become faster but it also needs to be more widely disseminated and more readily applied to drive benefits in the classroom. The Universal Evidence Report is a step toward making research more impactful and useful for educators, developers, researchers and policymakers.”
The UER enables practical, accessible research to be put to use to benefit teachers, students, and the tools that support teaching and learning. Practitioners should be able to use this evidence to select and implement education solutions for their contexts. The UER modernizes reporting while meeting regulatory guidelines, lowering costs and increasing research visibility.
For K-12 Administrators, the UER:
Supports easier and quicker access to, analysis, review and interpretation of edtech evidence.
Provides an overview of context-specific insights into how tools are working.
Can serve as evidence in vetting processes and purchasing decisions.
Clearly shows ESSA alignment.
For Solution Providers, the UER:
Gets effectiveness data into the hands of K-12 purchasers more quickly.
Can inform product development without having to dig through longer research reports.
Shows implementations in different contexts.
Simplifies and standardizes RFPs, bids and/or adoptions.
Broadcasts unbiased research findings to the market.
“Education research and development has to work for the benefit of students and teachers. Every district and state administrator, policymaker, researcher and solution provider should be able to share and access research. The UER is another step to make it easier for all K-12 stakeholders to be able to quickly access, share and apply research in their daily work.”
Karl Rectanus
CEO and Co-Founder of LearnPlatform
The UER was developed with input from:
K-12 school districts and educators, in particular those serving marginalized student populations.
U.S. federal representatives, including the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Education Technology (OET).
Education associations, including International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and philanthropies committed to research and evidence, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Researchers.