What it means
Three core expectations run through the playbook. States must define structured learning questions tied to outcome gaps. They must build evidence cycles that connect those questions to real evaluation data. And they must have data governance in place to move findings into decisions — not let them sit in reports. States receiving Title I funds—more than $17 billion annually—already face ESSA guidance requiring evidence-based interventions for school improvement, so the playbook lands in a compliance context, not a blank slate.
What to do
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What building a Learning Agenda Playbook for State Education Leaders?
The U.S. Department of Education launched the Learning Agenda Playbook in 2025 as an official action under the Evidence Act. It asks state education leaders to identify priority learning questions, design evaluations, and feed findings into continuous improvement cycles — giving data governance a structured, statutory backbone for the first time.
Three core expectations run through the playbook. States must define structured learning questions tied to outcome gaps. They must build evidence cycles that connect those questions to real evaluation data. And they must have data governance in place to move findings into decisions — not let them sit in reports.
States receiving Title I funds—more than $17 billion annually—already face ESSA guidance requiring evidence-based interventions for school improvement, so the playbook lands in a compliance context, not a blank slate.
Why Does Evidence-Based Education Policy Keep Stalling at the State Level?
Staff capacity — not missing data — is the top barrier states name, per Education Week (2025). Fewer than 20 states have formal processes for reviewing whether major programs meet ESSA evidence tiers. State chiefs turn over roughly every 2.5 years, which breaks the multi-year cycles that evidence-based policy requires.
A 2025 Education Week analysis found that state education agencies most often cite staff capacity — not data availability — as the primary barrier to evidence-based policymaking. Fewer than 20 states have formal, structured processes for reviewing whether their major programs meet ESSA evidence tiers, per Education Week (2025). That gap is structural, not accidental.
Leadership churn compounds the problem. State chiefs turn over roughly once every 2.5 years, disrupting multi-year evidence cycles. Fewer than half of state education agencies had dedicated data-use offices as of 2023.
The Student-Outcome Gap the Playbook Is Trying to Close
NAEP 2024 results show 4th-grade reading scores remain 3 points below 2019 levels, with only 31% of students scoring proficient—unchanged since 2022 (NCES, 2025). Average 8th-grade math scores are also 4 points below pre-pandemic levels. These stalled numbers give the Learning Agenda Playbook its clearest rationale.
NAEP 2024 results show recovery has stalled: only 31% of 4th graders scored proficient or above in reading—unchanged from 2022 and 3 points below pre-pandemic levels.
Math is no better. Average 8th-grade scores in 2024 were 4 scale-score points below 2019—the second consecutive cycle without meaningful recovery.
What EdTech Vendors and Service Providers Need to Do Next
As of 2025, at least 12 states require evidence-tier documentation from edtech vendors at contract renewal, and 67% of district leaders demand ESSA Tier 2 evidence or higher before signing multi-year deals. Vendors who cannot map their products to a state's formal learning questions are being passed over in procurement, per Inside Higher Ed reporting.
The playbook sharpens procurement risk for vendors without documented evidence. Vendors unable to align products to a state's formal learning questions are increasingly passed over, accelerated by tighter post-ESSER budgets. At least 12 states now require evidence-tier documentation from edtech vendors in contract renewals.
ESSER funding expired by September 2024. States now prioritize programs with demonstrated efficacy. 67% of district leaders require ESSA Tier 2 or higher evidence before signing multi-year agreements.