For companies building educational technologies and learning resources
The Science of Learning Certification supports schools, parents, policymakers, and procurement teams to identify educational products that are genuinely aligned with evidence on how children learn. It is designed for companies developing children’s technologies and related educational resources, including digital tools, AI-enabled products, apps, platforms, games, and other teaching and learning resources.
Many educational products claim to support learning, but many are not designed in ways that reflect established principles from cognitive science, learning sciences, developmental psychology, motivation research, and education research. The Science of Learning Certification provides an independent, research-informed signal that a product’s design is aligned with these principles.
A partnership certification
This certification brings together EduEvidence, the International Centre for EdTech Impact, and UNESCO Global Alliance on the Science of Learning for Education. EduEvidence acts as the certification issuer and manages the certification process. The International Centre for EdTech Impact supports the scientific and research infrastructure, including reviewer recruitment, advisory input, and technical assistance for companies that need to strengthen their evidence base. UNESCO Science of Learning for Education supports international alignment, scientific dialogue, and connection to global learning-science frameworks, but does not certify, approve, or evaluate individual products.
What the certification is based on
The certification is based on a Science of Learning evaluation rubric developed from a structured synthesis of established and contemporary learning-science frameworks, peer-reviewed research, and expert consultation. The general rubric assesses whether a product supports:
- Active learning — meaningful choices, problem-solving, knowledge construction, manipulation of information, feedback, and iteration.
- Engaged learning — sustained attention, intrinsic motivation, balanced challenge, and purposeful reward structures.
- Meaningful learning — relevance, transferability, conceptual representation, and activation of prior knowledge.
- Social interaction — collaborative design, communication affordances, peer learning, and role-based interaction where relevant.
For subject-specific products, additional rubrics may be applied after the general Science of Learning criteria have been assessed, for example in literacy, numeracy, or social-emotional learning. The certification uses a two-tier scoring architecture: the general Science of Learning rubric contributes 60% of the score, and the subject-specific rubric contributes 40%.
How the review works
Companies submit product information, a demo or product access, and a short statement explaining how the product meets the Science of Learning criteria. Each product is independently reviewed by at least two trained reviewers who are academic scholars or researchers with expertise in the Science of Learning. Reviewers apply the relevant general and subject-specific criteria, score the product on a 1–4 scale, and document their rationale. Their feedback is calibrated through additional review by a representative of the UNESCO Global Alliance on the Science of Learning for Education. If reviewer scores differ by more than one point, a third reviewer adjudicates.
Certified products receive a specific badge, certificate indicating the overall certification level, general rubric score, subject-specific score where applicable, a short qualitative summary, and the names of the scientists involved in the scoring. EduEvidence supports public sharing of the companies’ achievements on its LinkedIn channel.
Certification levels
Products may be awarded one of several certification levels, depending on the evidence submitted and the outcome of the independent review. Products that do not yet meet the criteria will receive brief feedback identifying which rubric areas need to be strengthened before certification can be awarded. This feedback is limited to the certification rubric and should not be understood as product consultancy, or an ongoing dialogue with the scientists involved in scoring. Companies seeking more detailed research support, study design, or product-development guidance may contact the International Centre for EdTech Impact, the research partner for the certification.
Why apply?
Certification gives companies a credible, independent way to demonstrate that their product is not only usable or engaging, but designed in line with how learning happens. Certified products will be listed in EduEvidence’s certification database and connected to wider repositories of externally verified educational solutions used by procurement teams, ministries, and international organisations.
Certified companies
