2025 Call for Effective Technology

The Call for Effective Technology (CET) program identifies and supports the development, implementation, and evaluation of promising AI-powered and educational technology tools that enable high-dosage tutoring, personalized learning, and instructional effectiveness for public school students. Our focus is on improving academic outcomes in mathematics and reading while ensuring equitable access across diverse student populations.

The program provides grants of between $150,000 – $250,000 to support implementation of technology solutions during the 2025-26 school year, alongside a matched research partner, in order to evaluate effectiveness.

The CET program aims to:

• » Support the development and implementation of innovative AI and educational technology solutions
• » Study and evaluate these tools in authentic educational settings
• » Shape evidence-based policies and quality standards for AI and tech integration in education
• » Identify equity-focused interventions that demonstrate potential to improve outcomes for underserved students.
• » Advance a culture of evidence-first decision-making in the rollout of AI and educational technologies.

The CET program is specifically focused on educational technology solutions, with a particular interest in AI-powered tools. Unlike programs that support concept development or early-stage ideas, CET requires applicants to have existing tools or solutions that will be ready for use in real school settings during the 2025-26 school year.

Additionally, CET includes a strong research component, with all grantees working with an Accelerate-assigned research partner to evaluate usability, feasibility, and effectiveness.

Eligible applicants include:

• Educational technology developers and providers (both nonprofit and for-profit) with AI-powered or tech-enabled learning solutions in all content areas, especially for mathematics
• School districts, public charter schools, and charter management organizations implementing innovative technology or AI solutions
• EdTech accelerators, incubators, and support organizations that partner directly with learning technology providers

Regardless of lead applicant type, implementation must take place in a U.S.-based PK–12 public or public charter school during the 2025–26 school year.

We support a wide range of AI-powered and educational technology tools that enable personalized learning and instructional effectiveness, including but not limited to:

• AI-powered tutoring or learning systems
• Adaptive learning platforms
• Tools that support teacher instructional effectiveness
• Educational software that provides personalized learning experiences
• Technology solutions that improve implementation of evidence-based teaching practices

Solutions may be used directly by students or by teachers and other instructional personnel.

Applicants must have a working prototype or existing tool appropriate for use in real schools and classrooms during the 2025-26 school year. Preference will be given to solutions that have undergone at least initial field testing with target users, if not in an authentic setting. All applicants should be able to articulate a clear theory of action for how your technology addresses an educational challenge.

While prior evidence of impact is not required, preference will be given to tools that have completed pilot testing and demonstrated initial promise. The application asks about your development milestones, testing phases, and current user base to understand the maturity of your solution.

No, prior evidence of impact is not required to apply for the CET grant. The goal of this grant is to help promising solutions develop this evidence base. However, applicants must demonstrate:

• A working prototype or existing tool that will be pilot-ready, at a minimum, in school year 2025-26
• Theory of action grounded in scientific research and accepted evidence-based practices
• Clear definition of the educational challenge being addressed

Preference will be given to tools that have completed at least initial pilot testing in an authentic setting.

Yes, both generative and non-generative AI solutions are eligible for the CET grant. The application asks you to classify your solution’s technology as one of the following:

• Contains implementations of non-generative AI
• Uses non-generative AI as a core part of the product
• Product contains implementation of generative AI
• Uses generative AI as a core part of the product
• Other

The key is that your solution must address a significant educational challenge and be grounded in learning science and evidence-based practices.

Yes. International organizations may apply if they have a confirmed U.S.-based PK–12 public or public charter school district partner for implementation.

Organizations may submit separate applications only if they meet both of the following criteria:

1. Separate entities: Each application must be submitted by a legally distinct organization (e.g., a nonprofit and its for-profit subsidiary). Each organization will need to complete separate organizational onboarding in our grant management platform (Temelio) to submit its own application.
2. Different educational challenges: Each application must address a completely separate and distinct educational challenge

Important note: Accelerate will only review one application per registered organization, the remainder will be deemed ineligible by default. If multiple applications are submitted by the same organization, only the first application submitted will be considered for review.

If your organization has multiple tools that address the same educational challenge, you should submit one application that explains how your tools work together to solve that specific problem. You may include multiple tools in a single budget as long as all costs are associated with addressing the one challenge you’ve outlined.

We encourage partnerships between ed tech developers and school districts, as these collaborations often indicate that projects are well-positioned for success. However, applications must be submitted by the organization that has direct control over the technology’s development and data.

The purpose of CET is to generate real-time insights into tool development and effectiveness. This requires direct access to:

• The decision-makers responsible for developing the tool
• Backend data and analytics used to inform product decisions
• The ability to make iterative improvements based on research findings

Who should apply:

• Ed tech companies/developers who control their tool’s development and data should submit the application
• School districts implementing their own internally-developed technology solutions

Who should not apply:

• Districts or organizations that are implementing a third-party/commercial tool but do not have direct access to the tool’s development process or backend data
• Partners who cannot directly influence tool development or access implementation data

Yes. University-affiliated labs or research teams are eligible to apply. Applicants should list the university as the organization and include the college or lab affiliation in descriptive fields. Report the lab or team’s annual funding, not the full university’s.

The application process consists of:

• » Completing an Eligibility Form to determine if your organization qualifies
• » Submitting a full application (for eligible organizations)
• » Participating in an interview (for selected applicants)

The full application includes sections on:

• » Organizational information and background
• » Problem-solution overview (upload a demo or provide a link)
• » Equitable access
• » Implementation plan
• » Data collection and evaluation
• » Additional information

Tuesday, May 27th, 2025: Application available
Friday, June 13, 2025: Application deadline
Friday June 20, 2025: Selection of applicants for interviews and notification
Monday, June 23 – Thursday, July 3, 2025: Interviews (30 mins)
July 2025: Award notifications
August 2025: Grant award finalization and research partner match for grantees
September 2025: Start of grant award year
September 2026: End of grant award year

The application requires a demo or visual representation of your solution (under 5 minutes). This can be:

• » Demo video
• » Simple screen recording showing basic functionality
• » Slideshow with screenshots and explanation
• » Walk-through using prototype or wireframe tools
• » Narrated PowerPoint or presentation

The focus should be on showcasing the user experience and core functionality of your solution. Production value is not a factor in the evaluation.

While having confirmed district partnerships is not an absolute requirement to apply, it is preferred. If selected as a grantee, you will be required to secure letters of commitment from partner districts before grant disbursement. These letters must confirm:

• » Support for implementation during the 2025-26 school year
• » Agreement to participate in research/evaluation activities
• » Willingness to timely share relevant student-level data with grantee

The application asks about the status of your district partnerships:

• » Yes – confirmed partnerships with signed partnership agreement/MOU
• » Yes – confirmed partnerships without signed partnership agreement/MOU
• » In discussion – partnerships likely but not yet confirmed
• » No – still seeking district partner(s)

Preference will be given to applicants with confirmed partnerships.

Your proposed implementation must serve a minimum of 100 students during the 2025-26 school year, across at least two partner districts (or with a strong rationale for single-district implementation).

Implementation can occur at any point during the school year, and flexible implementation periods are acceptable (e.g., 6-week design sprints, semester-long pilots, or full-year implementations).

The eligibility requirement is a minimum of 100 students across at least two partner districts, or with a strong justification for single-district implementation. If you have a compelling rationale for why your solution should be implemented in a single district, you can provide this explanation in your application.

Awarded funds may be used to support:

• » Program implementation
• » Technology development and adaptation
• » Costs related to evaluation activities

The funds are meant to be flexible to promote the project goals while providing grantees with maximum flexibility.

Yes, up to 5% of the grant amount may cover indirect costs.

All CET grantees will be matched with an Accelerate external research partner, who will be funded separately through Accelerate, and should not budget for this expense. If there are additional research-related expenses such as support staff time, please include it in the proposed budget.

All grantees will work with an Accelerate-assigned external research partner focused on designing and conducting an evaluation study. These studies may examine:

• » Usability: How effectively can students and/or teachers use the tool?
• » Feasibility: How practical is the tool to implement in authentic educational settings?
• » Initial evidence of effectiveness: What impact does the tool have on relevant educational outcomes (e.g., student achievement)?

Expectations for all grantees include:

• » Partner with Accelerate’s external CET research partner
• » Share access to implementation data, achievement/assessment data, and internal metrics
• » Participate in regular check-ins with Accelerate and CET research partner about implementation
• » Allow access to internal team and external / district partners for research activities (interviews, observations, etc.)
• » Share internal reports or dashboards already in use by the organization

• Implementation data examples include:
  • » Usage statistics (time spent, features used, completion rates)
  • » User engagement patterns
  • » Student progress through content/activities
  • » Teacher utilization rates
  • » Technical performance metrics
  • » Support ticket themes/frequency
• Internal metrics examples include:
  • » Student learning progress
  • » Results from any A/B testing
  • » User satisfaction scores
  • » Teacher feedback data
  • » Student assessment results
  • » Adoption/retention rates
• External metrics examples include (where available and applicable):
  • » NWEA MAP
  • » iReady
  • » Star Renaissance
  • » End of Year state exams
  • » District benchmark assessments

Accelerate’s external research partner(s) will:

• » Partner with grantees to design research study (e.g., implementation or impact evaluation)
• » Identify evaluation approaches, leveraging data that is already available or being used internally by grantee organizations, and including external assessment data, where applicable
• » Conduct data analysis and re-analysis, offering a second layer of technical support to grantee organizations
• » Provide regular thought partnership and feedback to grantees
• » Participate in Accelerate’s Research Learning Community to share individual and cross-cohort insights
• » Create grantee final report and findings to be shared publicly

Grantees will need to:

• » Share de-identified student-level data with the Accelerate-assigned external research partner at regular intervals
• » Secure data sharing agreements with partnering school district(s) in collaboration with the research partner
• » Follow all applicable privacy laws and regulations regarding student data

Your application should include information about your approach to handling and protecting student data, including compliance with FERPA/COPPA, your data retention policies, and/or parent/guardian consent process.

Applications will be evaluated based on:

• » Clear definition of the educational problem being addressed and its significance
• » Quality of the solution description and its alignment with evidence-based practices
• » Considerations for equitable access, especially for underserved student populations
• » Strength of the implementation plan and district partnerships
• » Approach to data collection, privacy, and evaluation
• » Organizational capacity and commitment to research

A detailed rubric is used to score applications across these areas. De-identified sections of your application may be non-evaluatively processed by a large language model. Your full submission will be reviewed and scored by human evaluators.

Strong applications typically demonstrate:

• » A clearly defined educational problem with specific evidence of its significance
• » A solution that directly addresses the problem with features grounded in learning science
• » Thoughtful consideration for equitable access and diverse student needs
• » A feasible implementation plan with confirmed district partnerships
• » Comprehensive data collection capabilities and privacy frameworks
• » A commitment to collaborating with research partners and using findings to improve the tool’s design, implementation, and effectiveness

First, make sure your organization is eligible to apply by completing the Eligibility Form.

Applicants should have:

• » At a minimum, a pilot-ready, working prototype or existing tool that has preferably undergone initial testing with target users (e.g., students, teachers), even if not yet implemented in the intended school setting
• » A clear theory of action for how the technology addresses an educational challenge
  The capacity to implement in at least two districts (or a strong justification for single-district implementation)
• » A willingness to participate in research activities and share data

Please email program@accelerate.us with a description of the issue you are experiencing. Our team will be closely monitoring the inbox and will provide support as needed.

For more details about the Call for Effective Technology grant program, including eligibility requirements, funding priorities, and additional information, please visit our website at https://accelerate.us/cet-application/.

Questions may be emailed to program@accelerate.us at any time. Our team will be closely monitoring the inbox and will provide support as needed.