The expert districts and vendors call when the evidence has to hold up.
Dr. Rachel Schechter has spent two decades inside the question every EdTech product now has to answer: does it actually work, for whom, and why. Former Director of Research at Lexia Learning and VP of Learning Sciences at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, she now runs LXD Research, the independent firm behind more ESSA-approved reading studies than any other research organization in the country.
For Dr. Schechter’s most recent commentary and research, visit the LXD Research Articles page →
Talks built for the moment districts are in right now.
Safeguard From These Three Main Pitfalls with Typical Product Research
An Evidence-Informed Decision-Making Framework that helps education leaders avoid the most common research pitfalls and choose products that genuinely move student outcomes.
Your Keys to Identifying True Evidence-Based EdTech Products
What evidence actually satisfies state ESSA requirements, why sample size and methodology matter more than marketing language, and how to tell real research from a well-designed white paper — across reading, math, SEL, and AI-driven tools alike.
The New Federal Standard: What Districts Must Now Demand From EdTech
A practical walkthrough of the Department of Education’s August 2026 guidance — and the five questions every vendor should now be able to answer before a contract is signed.
Recent Talks & Presentations
ISTE+ASCD
9 sessions across the 2025–2026 season on EdTech evidence and ESSA evaluation.
SXSW EDU
2024–2026 — evaluating vendor research claims in EdTech procurement.
AIxED
2 sessions in 2026 on evidence standards for AI-driven learning tools.
Mass CUE
2024–2025, returning fall 2026 to present on evaluating evidence.
Tech & Learning EdTech Exec Summit
Leading roundtables on evaluating EdTech vendor evidence.
NCTM
Verifying vendor research claims for math EdTech tools.
SREE
Using public data to evaluate a math curriculum’s effectiveness.
Podcast Appearances
From podcast conversations to short-form explainers, Dr. Schechter makes rigorous evidence accessible — for educators, EdTech leaders, and anyone trying to make sense of what the research actually says.
Trusted on stages and in the field.
“Rachel served as a subject matter expert for ISTE’s Course of Mind project, helping us craft criteria — grounded in the learning sciences — for evaluating the quality of edtech products.”
“Rachel developed and presented a comprehensive review of educational assessment for our internal team. Her presentation was professional, engaging, and informative.”
From Dora the Explorer to federal EdTech policy.
Rachel’s research career began as a production assistant testing early episodes of Dora the Explorer, where she learned that measuring what actually lands with kids — not what looks good on paper — is the whole job. That instinct carried her through a Ph.D. in Child Development at Tufts, an Ed.M. at Harvard, and roles as Director of Research at Lexia Learning and VP of Learning Sciences at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
In 2021 she founded LXD Research to give EdTech companies — and the districts buying from them — an independent, classroom-grounded answer to the question underneath every purchase decision: is this actually working. She was a 2023 finalist for the EdTech Digest Trendsetter Award.
Bring this talk to your stage.
Available for keynotes, panels, and workshops on EdTech evidence, ESSA certification, and evaluating vendor claims.
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