What If You Fail the EAF Certification Process?

Often EdTech companies are afraid to enter the EAF evaluation process because they feel the product isn’t perfect. Yet in many cases, it would be better to go through with the evaluation early on. Today we’re going to tell you in detail what happens if an EdTech product doesn't meet the EAF standard right away.

The Process

Let’s imagine: an evaluation for your product is conducted and the score is below our standards in one or more pedagogical parameters.

• Your 60+ page evaluation report lists the main improvement points. It includes the minimum requirements for receiving the certification, as well as less critical suggestions.
• Afterwards, you can inform us within 6 months of the original evaluation date when the improvements are ready.
• EAF will check the product one more time and if the suggested corrections are done, the certification is granted.

How many pass in the first try?

During EAF’s first years, the fail-pass rate was almost 50-50, but nowadays the evaluated products are more mature and from bigger companies. 
At the moment about 35% of the learning solutions we have evaluated, didn’t pass the certification process on the first try. Out of those aproximately half improved their product and passed the certification threshold on the second or third try.

The Main Reasons Why a Product Doesn’t Meet Our Standards

• It is a start-up product and therefore not yet published. We grant certification only to products that are available for users. If an early-stage product shows great promise and gets a score that would pass the certification limit, it will get certified once published.
• The pedagogy needs to be improved. The most common issues are often related to providing feedback to learners or giving optimal challenges and relevant content.
• There are serious usability issues that lead to e.g. misunderstanding instructions or losing your work or progress.
• There are technical issues, for example the product doesn’t work in a device that it should support.
• The customer promise doesn’t match the product. For example, the product should support learning for all primary school grades, but in reality the tasks are too difficult for young learners or too childish and easy for older learners.
• There are issues with privacy; Students’ information could be dangerously exposed or the solution doesn’t allow deleting information.

Why Start the Evaluation Process Before You Are Perfect?

The report provides important feedback - and it’s easier to make decisions on your overall design in the earlier stages of development. The feedback can also give you a confirmation on your direction. Additionally, during the evaluation process we might find crucial issues and bugs you are not yet aware of. And the most important part: when you publish the product, it is already certified and ready to conquer the world!