LEAP Innovations has announced a $5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to increase and improve the pace and quality of innovation in Chicago's K-12 education system.

The grant, which builds on previous support from the foundation, will support LEAP's efforts to cultivate a nationwide network of education-technology "test beds" designed to put teachers and school decision-makers at the center of the shift toward personalized learning; lower barriers and the risks associated with the adoption of new, potentially transformative practices and products; and encourage the rapid development of a healthy, transparent ecosystem for effective learning technologies. The funds also will help the organization drive collaboration among a growing number of evaluators from across the country, in turn creating much-needed national industry standards and the sharing of best practices.

According to LEAP, education technology helps teachers differentiate instruction more powerfully than before. But while its promise has spurred an $8.4 billion education tech boom, little is known about how well the products work.

"In the year since we launched, we've been working to make Chicago the education innovation hub for the country, creating a model that bridges the gap among our schools and innovators," said LEAP founder and CEO Phyllis Lockett. "This award officially puts Chicago on the education innovation map. It builds on an emerging ecosystem rooted in the foundation of great work with partners, including the Chicago Public Education Fund, 1871, forward-thinking principals and teachers, edtech investors, and so many others committed to advancing public education in our city."