What is Rapid Cycle Evaluation (RCE)?

Running a Rapid Cycle Evaluation (RCE) produces multiple reports, maximizing insights by analyzing data on product effectiveness and teacher feedback. Through RCE, you can determine:

  • How a product is being used (Usage Analysis)
  • How use of a product impacts students (Outcome Analysis)
  • Potential cost savings (Cost Analysis) as it relates to your organization, teachers, and students

This information informs critical instructional, operational, and financial decisions, allowing administrators to identify and implement the most effective educational interventions for their classrooms.

What is the Rapid Cycle Evaluation (RCE) process?

The Rapid Cycle Evaluation (RCE) is a formative decision-making process that allows you to examine real-world data and make decisions about what works, under what conditions, and for whom. LearnPlatform's RCE process involves:

  • Defining a research goal
  • Identifying, collecting, and preparing data for analysis
  • Analyzing data and reporting results
  • Looking for success points (i.e., subgroups where the product has a positive impact)
  • Deciding on implementation changes based on a review of success points

What differentiates RCE?

RCE reports are driven by a scientific methodology designed to deliver practical, on-demand insights that inform instructional, operational, and financial decisions. The research-backed methodology includes a proprietary grading rubric, scoring algorithms and sophisticated analytics developed with key stakeholders (e.g., educators and administrators), and vetted by psychometricians and applied scientists.

A rigorous psychometric approach was used to develop the LearnPlatform grading rubric, which educators use to subjectively evaluate EdTech products and differentiate effective and ineffective technologies. Further, rigorous scientific approaches were used to develop the analytics engine that drives RCE, which leverages multiple research methods and flexibly adapts the specific research design (i.e., control, comparative, or correlative) based on the data inputted into the system.

How does RCE work? What is the methodology?

Once data are uploaded, the advanced RCE engine generates insights into product implementation and impact. The general process is as follows:

  • A backend algorithm groups students into natural usage groups and identifies patterns across student groups with differing levels of usage.
  • A Quintile Analysis then partitions students into subgroups based on levels of prior performance and examines the effectiveness of the product to improve education outcomes for each performance group.
  • A Fidelity Analysis partitions students based on the extent to which they achieved the recommended dosage, and then examines product effectiveness for each group (within Control and Comparative studies).
  • Correlative, Comparative, and Control RCE account for differences such as student demographics (e.g., gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status), grade level, and prior achievement in determining the effectiveness of an EdTech product (i.e., covariates).
  • A cost analysis provides information on the total cost of ownership, cost-effectiveness, and amount of money spent on different usage clusters and fidelity groups.
  • The on-demand analytics dashboards transparently and easily display edtech product insights.

Note: Product effectiveness is only examined within Control and Comparative studies.