The EdTech (educational technology) theme covers pedagogical programmes and approaches that use technology to support teaching professionals, as well as children and young people with teaching and learning. This may include computer adaptive learning, or innovative artificial intelligence (AI) approaches. It could support effective and personalised formative assessment, provide feedback to pupils, or support the development of specific skills. Approaches could be used for the whole class or targeted for specific pupil groups.
Since 2020 the systemic shift and incorporation of remote teaching and learning practices has led pedagogical EdTech programmes to proliferate in the UK education sector. However, there remains a lack of robust experimental evidence underpinning EdTech pedagogical applications and their impact on pupil attainment.
At the same time, schools continue to make considerable time and financial investments in purchasing and integrating EdTech programmes, often without the certainty of prior evidence. The EEF aims to bridge this evidence gap by funding evaluations of EdTech programmes that could improve education outcomes for socio-economically disadvantaged children and young people, to better understand both EdTech implementation within schools and the impact of EdTech programming on quality teaching and pupil attainment. We are interested in new and emerging programmes and approaches and established programmes delivered at scale.
Since 2023 the EEF has commissioned funding on EdTech specifically, although EdTech programmes and approaches may also fit within other funding themes (for example, literacy, maths).
Why it matters to our mission
EdTech is an area where more research is needed to find successful approaches that align with the evidence. EEF evidence suggests that the effectiveness of EdTech interventions is best characterised as mixed, resulting in a lack of guidance on what practices actually work when using EdTech to enhance learning outcomes. The impact of EdTech on disadvantaged pupils is even smaller and less certain, meaning that without careful implementation it risks widening rather than narrowing the disadvantage gap. Meanwhile, research suggests that strategies to reduce teacher workload and improve working conditions were associated with improved retention. There is significant policy interest in this area as EdTech innovation, particularly the use of Generative AI, is increasingly prevalent in education settings, so it is important that we continue to build the evidence base to support educators, and children and young people, to make decisions about which EdTech programmes and approaches to use.
For further information please see the EEF’s initial evidence review of Digital Technology (2012) and the EEF’s guidance report on Using Digital Technology to Improve Learning (2021), which is designed to support senior leaders and teachers to make better informed decisions based on the best available evidence we currently have.
Our recent review of evidence on Edtech interventions for disadvantaged pupils (2025) looks at which elements of EdTech programmes and approaches may lead to impact, and how these findings apply to socio-economically disadvantaged children and young people.
Previous EEF-commissioned evidence and practice reviews have found that there is limited robust evidence about what works in EdTech. Teachers are increasingly expected to integrate technology into their classroom practices, often linked to improving pupil attainment, yet the evidence base presents mixed messages about when and how to use technology in the classroom. This results in a lack of guidance on what practices actually work when using EdTech to enhance pupil learning outcomes.
The EEF is working to build the evidence base, with the recent publication of the meta-analysis for the systematic review of EdTech interventions for disadvantaged pupils. This comprehensive review identified the following mechanisms of EdTech interventions that are associated with improved pupil attainment outcomes:
- Grounding technology in pedagogical processes;
- Grounding technology in inclusion and accessibility;
- Applying diverse media for learning;
- Creating dynamic feedback mechanisms;
- Leveraging technology for adaptive teaching;
- Planning for implementation;
- Guiding the development of reflective and personalised environments;
- Managing game-based learning and gamification;
- Scaffolding collaborative learning.
| EEF Toolkit | The Teaching and Learning Toolkit incorporates approaches involving EdTech within the 30 Toolkit strands. As and where there are relevant findings from digital technology approaches, these are noted in the ‘Key findings’ and ‘Behind the average’ summaries. |
| Evaluation | We have several completed and live projects that use technology to personalise learning: for example, Lexia Reading Core5®, which uses software to adapt the learning content presented to individual pupils logging into the online platform based on their level of content mastery and has had a promising result on pupil attainment from a research trial. Our ChatGPT in lesson preparation Teacher Choices trial supports the generation of robust evidence for the use of Generative AI in teachers’ activity and lesson preparation, with a focus on teacher workload as the primary outcome of interest. The trial generated promising findings with teachers using ChatGPT for lesson preparation spending an average of 56.2 minutes per week, compared to 81.5 minutes for those not using Generative AI – a 31% time saving. This evaluation is the current benchmark for effective evaluation of EdTech in the sector. More recently, we have commissioned a Teacher Choices trial for Oak National Academy’s AI-powered lesson planning assistant, Aila, testing the impact of using Aila on lesson preparation time and resource quality for Key Stage 2 class instruction. |
| Sector Engagement | Stakeholder engagement (for example, Department of Education, Sutton Trust Jacobs Foundation, Nuffield Foundation x Ada Lovelace Institute, JISC) is helping to shape contextual understanding and we welcome further opportunities for collaboration. EdTech is an area of policy interest for the Department for Education as both an opportunity for economic growth and innovation in education. This is part of a wider strategy for developing a pipeline of effective EdTech programmes and resources to help ‘break down the barriers of opportunity’ — particularly for disadvantaged pupils. |
Our funding rounds
In 2023 we included EdTech as a specific theme in our funding round, focusing on established education programmes already able to deliver to approximately 50+ settings, delivered to pupils aged 5 – 16 (Key Stage 1 – 4) in England. The scope of this funding round was identified via stakeholder consultation, including a large-scale practitioner survey, and reviewing existing research evidence. The EEF commissioned the following programme evaluations: Maths-Whizz, Reading Plus, FFT Tutoring with the Lightning Squad and the Teacher Choices Chat GPT trial. These programmes use EdTech in some or all of the following ways:
- formative assessment;
- to support the development of specific skills (for example, English, maths);
- computer adaptive learning or AI technologies for teaching and learning.
Recent (2025) funding rounds have included a further focus on the 16-to-19 phase to support the evaluation of programmes that seek to improve outcomes for post-16 learners, including EdTech and AI initiatives in:
- reducing workload for practitioners;
- providing feedback directly to learners;
- supporting socio-economically disadvantaged learners, or broader programmes that are being used in a targeted way with this cohort;
- professional development programmesA programme is a package of support, including professional development, that helps early years educators to improve particular areas of practice and children’s outcomes. with AI functionality.
EdTech trials and pilot studies in progress
| Priority area | Highest-level EEF project | Project | Delivery team | Year groups | Level of intervention | Description | Headline results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EdTech | Effectiveness | Lexia Reading Core5® | Queen’s University Belfast and Lexia | Year 2 | Targeted, whole class | A trial to test the impact of Lexia Reading Core5® (Lexia), a computer-based integrated learning system that aims to improve reading skills by providing children with individualised reading instruction and practice in six areas: phonological awareness, phonics, structural awareness, automaticity, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension. | The evaluation report will be published in Summer 2026. Efficacy trial: +1 month 4 padlocks |
| EdTech | Efficacy | Maths-Whizz Intelligent Tutoring | Whizz Education | Year 2 – 5 | Targeted, whole class | Trial to test the impact of Maths-Whizz, a whole class online intelligent tutoring programme and implementation planning programme, that aims to improve maths outcomes. | The evaluation report will be published in Spring 2026. |
| EdTech | Efficacy | FFT Tutoring with the Lightning Squad | FFT Education | Year 3 and Year 4 | Targeted, whole class | FFT Tutoring with the Lightning Squad is a targeted online reading catch-up programme that aims to improve reading skills for pupils aged 7 – 9 in Years 3 – 4 who are below age-expected reading levels. The programme is delivered by FFT Education, an established provider of educational programmes and services to schools. | The evaluation report will be published in Spring 2027. |
EdTech Choices evaluations in progress
Priority area | Highest-level EEF project | Project | Delivery team | Year groups | Level of intervention | Description | Headline results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EdTech | Teacher Choices | Lesson planning using AI lesson assistant, Aila | NFER, Oak National Academy | Year 3 – 6 | Key Stage 2 teachers (generalist) | Teacher Choices trial testing the impact of using Aila on lesson preparation time and resource quality for Key Stage 2 class instruction. | The evaluation report will be published in Autumn 2026. |
Completed trials in both EdTech and associated priority areas
| Priority area | Highest-level EEF project | Project | Delivery team | Age (yrs) | Level of intervention | Description | Headline results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teacher Choices, EdTech | Teacher Choices | ChatGPT in lesson preparation | Bain & Company, Hg Foundation, NFER | Year 7 – 9 | Whole class, targeted | Teacher Choices trial exploring different approaches to lesson and resource preparation in Key Stage 3 science. Specifically, this trial tests the impact of ChatGPT-assisted lesson and resource preparation on teacher time, with implementation support via a guide for teachers, against approaches unassisted by generative AI technology. | Delivery completed, 30% reduction in teacher planning time. |
| EdTech | Effectiveness | Stop and Think: Learning Counterintuitive Concepts | Behavioural Insights Team | Year 3 and Year 5 | Targeted, whole class | A project to test a software programme that uses quizzes and games to help pupils learn counterintuitive concepts in science and maths. | Delivery completed, discussing next steps and considered a Promising Programme due to its positive findings in science attainment: +2 months 3 padlocks Efficacy trial: +2 months 4 padlocks |
| Reading | Effectiveness | Accelerated Reader | NFER and Renaissance Learning | Year 7 | Targeted, whole class | Testing the impact of a web-based programme that encourages reading for pleasure and helps track progress. | 0 months 5 padlocks Efficacy trial: +3 months 3 padlocks |
| Reading | Effectiveness | Abracadabra (ABRA) | Coventry University | Key Stage 1 | Targeted, whole class | Testing an online and a paper-based version of a balanced approach to reading. | Effectiveness: +2 months 4 padlocks Efficacy trial: +3 months 4 padlocks |
| Tutoring | Effectiveness | Affordable Maths Tuition | NESTA | Key Stage 2 | Targeted, whole class | Testing the impact of online maths tutoring. | 0 months 3 padlocks |
| Literacy | Effectiveness | Units of Sound | Dyslexia Action | Year 7 | Targeted, whole class | A computer-based phonics programme for Year 7 pupils who are struggling with reading. | −1 months 1 padlock |
| Personalised learning | Efficacy | Flipped Learning | Shirelands Collegiate Academy | Key Stage 2 | Targeted, whole class | Pupils undertake some learning prior to lessons, freeing up class time for feedback and personalised support. | +1 month 3 padlocks |
| Literacy | Efficacy | GraphoGame Rime | University of Cambridge | Year 1 and Year 2 | Targeted, whole class | Testing a computer programme designed to improve pupils’ literacy through teaching phonics via “rhyme analogy”. | −1 month 5 padlocks |
| Literacy | Efficacy | Headsprout Early Reading in Special Schools | Bangor University | Key Stage1 and 2 | Whole school | A targeted literacy programme aiming to build fluency in essential early reading skills for children with SEND in special schools. | 0 months 1 padlock |
| Subject skills | Efficacy | onebillion | University of Nottingham | Key Stage 1 | Targeted, whole class | Maths learning app monitored by teaching assistants. | +3 months 5 padlocks |
| Literacy | Efficacy | Tutoring with Alphie | Success for All | Key Stage 2 (Year 6) | Targeted | Tutoring with Alphie is a computer-assisted programme that aims to improve the literacy skills of struggling readers. | +2 months 0 padlocks |