Advancing Impact Measurement in Education Worldwide with Aligned Standards
The International Centre for EdTech Impact (ICEI) is championing the integration of rigorous, credible educational impact criteria into the core of global impact measurement. This work aligns with the work of the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) to provide high-quality impact measurement and management (IMM) tools for investors. By aligning these efforts, there is a foundation for clearer standards, stronger accountability for education organisations and more effective decision-making for investors and funders in education and educational technology (edtech). Below is an overview of how both organisations’ work contributes to this shared objective:
Firstly, why does impact measurement and management in edtech matter?
The world is in the midst of a deepening learning crisis. Latest findings reported by UNESCO reveal that 57% of the world’s children lack basic skills, the essential capabilities that shape long-term wellbeing and participation in society. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have further intensified these inequalities, disproportionately affecting children from disadvantaged backgrounds and slowing global progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all. In this context, the need for common, credible impact indicators has never been more urgent.
Educational impact indicators not only help edtech companies understand and demonstrate their contribution to learning outcomes, but also enable investors and funders to make informed, evidence-based decisions that support meaningful and lasting change.
A Multi-Faceted Approach to Rigour
ICEI developed its education impact criteria through the 5Es framework - Efficacy, Effectiveness, Equity, Ethics and Environment -using a rigorous, research-led process over the past two and half years. Systematic analysis of potential impact areas led to detailed reports and peer-reviewed publications, including Nature and Computers & Education. ICEI then engaged edtech practitioners, learning scientists, policymakers, and investors in a consultative process that ensured the indicators were both academically robust and practically relevant. This approach has resulted in a framework that is now widely adopted, including by EduEvidence, which uses it as a certification standard globally, with currently more than 1,700 edtech solutions across over 70 countries validated according to the standard.
In parallel, the GIIN’s IRIS+ is a set of tools and guidance for impact investors to measure, manage and optimize their impact. IRIS+ is a free, public good that can help investors make more informed decisions and deliver stronger outcomes for people and the planet, including access to quality education. Since launching in February 2020, the IRIS+ Education theme has helped investors understand what positive impact in the education space looks like – like improving job skills for the future or improving access to early childhood care and education, among other strategic goals. Over the last five-plus years, however, policy and technical developments in the space mean there is growing demand for updated reliable measures from investors, policymakers and practitioners.
By building on established frameworks such as ICEI’s 5Es framework, the GIIN hopes to relaunch the theme given the substantial academic, policy and technical developments in the space and considering the increasing demand from investors, policymakers and practitioners for evidence-based approaches to assessing learning outcomes, giving investors and organizations a globally recognized structure for measuring and comparing educational impact.
These indicators are aligned with the SDGs; they operationalize major UN agency frameworks such as the UNESCO 6 Pillars, reflect children’s rights through UNICEF’s EdTech for Good framework, integrate environmental considerations, and incorporate education-specific measures such as cost-effectiveness. The result is a holistic, practical system that supports more responsible and transparent measurement of educational impact across the sector.
This ongoing work will continue to entail rigorous, practitioner focused efforts that incorporate academic evidence and are informed by a broad range of ecosystem actors, like ICEI’s 5Es framework, and make them specifically relevant for impact investors.
Why does this matter for the entire edtech ecosystem?
Shared impact metrics bring clarity and confidence to the entire edtech sector and its individual constituents: companies gain a clearer understanding of what to report, what investors expect, and how to structure their data collection and evaluation efforts. Investors benefit from consistency across portfolios, enabling them to track progress and assess performance in a more informed and comparable way. Researchers and analysts gain access to more standardized and higher-quality data, making it possible to conduct cross-company analyses, examine broader trends, and model expected effect sizes with greater precision.
Ultimately, these efforts bring long-called-for rigour to the edtech ecosystem. It strengthens trust, improves decision-making, and ensures that innovation in education is guided by meaningful evidence. Most importantly, it supports the global ambition to improve learning outcomes for all children and to build an education system that is demonstrably more effective, grounded in clear data and credible impact metrics.
