When it comes to new EdTech products, figuring out whether a product is successful or not can be difficult for schools. There are many different ways schools might measure the success of EdTech products, some more valuable than others.

Before a school even starts using an EdTech product, they should be thinking about how they can evaluate the success of that product. Administrators should develop a list of goals or targets that they hope to meet with the help of the EdTech product.

For example, imagine your school has a new EdTech product that allows students to learn and practice math. What might you want to get from this product? The answer is probably increased math test scores.

Before rolling out this new product, decide on a number. How much would test scores need to increase for the product to be worth what it costs? After all, a product that only marginally improves outcomes while costing your school thousands of dollars isn’t worth as much as a cheaper product that produces a larger increase in scores.

This same logic can be applied to any EdTech product. Decide on a metric that can be used to measure the product’s success and pick a firm standard the product needs to meet in order to offset its cost.

There are other factors that must be considered, too. Teacher approval is important to the success of EdTech products. If a product is producing some results, but teachers don’t like the product, it’s not always worth it. Dissatisfied teachers are less likely to use a product faithfully. Teachers are also the experts in their classrooms, and their opinions should be strongly considered when measuring the success of new products.

Finally, the ease of use with any product should be taken into consideration. EdTech products that are difficult to use or buggy, no matter how great they are in theory, are rarely going to be successful. If a product or program cannot be faithfully used, there is little chance it will provide the desired outcome.

Measuring the success of new EdTech products is difficult, but with these guidelines, it’s possible to make quick and simple decisions about which products are worth it and which are not. By setting clear goals and metrics, taking into account teacher feedback, and considering the ease of use of a product, we can come to conclusions about the true success of a product.

How do you measure the success of an EdTech product? What factors do you take into consideration?