Why RefynED Exists

Schools make important decisions about teachers. Those decisions affect pay, growth, and whether teachers stay. But too often, those decisions are made with uneven or incomplete evidence. That is the problem.

Run a Calibration Snapshot

01

What We Saw

Schools already have evaluation systems

  • They have rubrics

  • They have forms

  • They have processes

    • What they do not always have is a clear picture of whether a rating is actually supported

  • Evidence is often thin

  • It shows up late

  • It varies from one evaluator to another

  • And by the time everything is submitted, it is hard to go back and fix it

    • 02

    What Needs to Change

    Evaluations should be clear, consistent, and backed by real evidence

  • Clear

    Leaders should be able to explain their decisions.

  • Consistent

    Teachers should understand what matters and why.

  • Evidence-backed

    Every rating backed by real, documented evidence.

  • Transparent

    What supports the rating and what is missing is visible

    • 03

    What RefynED Does

    A clear view before decisions are finalized

    RefynED gives schools a way to see their evaluations clearly before they are finalized. It shows what is backing each rating, what is missing, and where there is risk. So leaders can make decisions they can stand behind. And teachers are part of the process, not just the outcome.

    04

    What This Leads To

    Stronger evaluations. Better conversations. More trust

  • Stronger evaluations

    Ratings that hold up to scrutiny.

  • Better conversations

    Direct, useful dialogue between leaders and teachers.

  • More trust

    Trust built across the whole system.

  • Retention

    Schools where teachers want to stay.

    • 05

    Who We Are

    Built by people who have worked inside schools

    We have built and led district analytics systems and technology used to support real decisions across schools.

    Through that work, we saw how evaluation decisions are made, and where they break down.

    Meet the team

    Built by educators who've led evaluations, coached teachers, and managed districts. We know what works and we built RefynED to prove it

    Jena Draper

    Founder & CEO of RefynED; previously built and scaled CatchOn into a leading K–12 analytics platform used by hundreds of districts

    Dr. Shannon Terry

    Chief Impact Officer at RefynED; former district and state leader specializing in teacher evaluation, professional learning, and instructional systems.

    Dave Elliott

    CTO at RefynED; brings 25+ years of experience leading product and engineering teams across education and enterprise software.