Independent STEM quality assurance for people, products, programs and content.

STEM.org is an independent STEM education research and credentialing organization established in 2001. STEM.org helps educators, schools, educational programs, product developers, and publishers demonstrate their work through distinct trustmarks, defined evaluation pathways, and verifiable digital credentials.

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The appropriate STEM.org pathway depends on what is being recognized: a person, product, program, published resource, or student achievement.

STEM.org Certified™ is for educators and other individuals. STEM.org Authenticated™ evaluates products, toys, games, kits, and learning tools. STEM.org Accredited™ evaluates schools, programs, and educational experiences. STEM.org Reviewed™ evaluates books, curricula, and published educational media. STEM.org Endorsed™ recognizes student achievement through eligible issuing pathways.

Choose the subject you want recognized rather than using the trustmark names interchangeably. An organization with multiple types of offerings may need more than one pathway.

STEM.org Certified™ is designed for educators, trainers, facilitators, and other individuals developing their STEM teaching practice. The online professional-development pathway is self-paced and includes applying what you learn through a capstone project.

Complete the required course activities and final steps to qualify for the credential. Explore STEM.org Certified™ professional development for the course details and current enrollment options.

STEM.org Authenticated™ evaluates the STEM learning value of submitted products, including toys, games, educational kits, and learning tools. The review considers the product and supporting evidence against the applicable STEM.org criteria.

Recognition applies to the evaluated product scope, not automatically to every item a manufacturer sells. See the STEM.org Authenticated™ product-evaluation pathway for submission guidance.

STEM.org Accredited™ is for organizations delivering STEM educational experiences. Appropriate applicants include schools, academies, after-school programs, camps, museums, science centers, makerspaces, learning centers, enrichment providers, and online programs.

The review focuses on the submitted learning experience, including its curriculum, delivery, instructor readiness, resources, and evidence of student learning. Explore STEM.org Accredited™ to define your scope and prepare for evaluation.

STEM.org Reviewed™ is the pathway for books, curricula, videos, and other published educational content. It helps publishers communicate the STEM alignment of the specific material submitted for review.

A published curriculum and an organization delivering that curriculum are different subjects. STEM.org Reviewed™ addresses the content; STEM.org Accredited™ addresses the delivered program or educational experience.

Begin with the appropriate pathway and define exactly what you are submitting. Provide the requested evidence, such as product information, educational materials, curriculum, instructional plans, or implementation and learning-outcome records, as relevant to your application.

STEM.org reviews the submission against the applicable criteria and may request clarification. Successful applicants receive recognition tied to the approved scope, with credential and verification information. Payment starts the applicable process; recognition depends on satisfying the requirements.

For pathways using a scored STEM.org evaluation, the minimum award threshold is 82 out of 100. The applicable rubric and submitted evidence determine the result.

The educator-course and student-recognition pathways have their own qualification requirements. Check the specific pathway rather than assuming every STEM.org credential follows an identical scoring process.

Best In STEM™ is an additional excellence distinction for eligible evaluations scoring 95 out of 100 or higher. It recognizes exceptional performance within the applicable STEM.org evaluation framework.

Best In STEM™ accompanies a qualifying outcome; it is not a separate credential available simply by purchasing an award. The underlying trustmark and evaluated scope remain important when communicating the recognition.

A typical STEM.org Accredited™ determination takes approximately 7–14 days after the required evidence is submitted. Complex applications or requests for additional information can extend that timeframe.

Educator-course completion is self-paced, and other evaluation pathways may have different requirements. Use the relevant application guidance when planning your timeline.

Yes. STEM.org serves an international education community, and eligible schools, programs, product developers, publishers, and educators outside the United States can pursue the appropriate pathway.

A digital credential makes recognition portable: share the credential record and STEM ID with families, collaborators, and partners across borders so they can check the awarded scope and current status directly.

Use the recipient’s credential link or STEM ID with the STEM.org credential verification service. Check that the recipient, credential type, awarded scope, and available issue or expiration details match the claim being made.

A seal image alone is not the same as a verifiable credential record. Contact STEM.org when a record is missing, unclear, or inconsistent with the use you are reviewing.

Review your credential record and applicable renewal instructions, then use the STEM.org Billing Portal to manage available billing options, update your payment method, and address outstanding invoices. Validity, renewal requirements, and applicable fees depend on your credential pathway and its terms.

Trustmark holders must maintain an active credential and remain in good financial standing to continue using the mark. This includes keeping applicable credential fees current and resolving outstanding balances. Payment alone does not replace any required review or other renewal conditions.

Use official seals only within the active awarded scope, preserve the supplied artwork, and make verification easy. The STEM.org Usage Guidelines explain websites, packaging, social media, and other uses. Student certificates use the separate STEM.org Endorsed™ pathway where eligible—not the STEM.org Accredited™ seal.

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CLEO stands for Credentialing Logic for Educational Operations. It is the operating architecture behind STEM.org trustmarks, connecting applicant intent, pathway classification, evidence evaluation, credential outcomes, and ongoing verification.

CLEO is more than a chatbot or an application form. Defined rules and controlled knowledge guide the process; AI can assist without becoming the authority that defines the standards. The architecture is designed to preserve continuity when interfaces, models, or technology providers change.

Start with the STEM.org pathway selector to find the relevant application route. For the full explanation, read CLEO: The World’s First STEM Trustmark Operating System.

Dynamic Standards Consensus (DSC) is the governance model within CLEO for evolving STEM.org trustmark standards. Verified credential holders use their STEM ID to participate in proposals and rules-based voting on evaluation criteria and rubric weighting.

DSC is designed to balance stable expectations with continuing improvement. Participation is verified, voting follows defined rules, and outcomes remain visible rather than being determined by an anonymous popularity poll.

Read Dynamic Standards Consensus: A Living Standards Model for STEM Education.

CLEO is the trustmark operating system; DSC is its standards-governance model. CLEO connects pathway classification, evaluation, credential identity, and verification. DSC provides the structured process through which verified participants help shape the standards that system applies.

The distinction separates earning recognition from helping steward its meaning over time. Neither function depends on treating an AI interface as the authority over educational quality.

Explore the full explanations of CLEO, the STEM trustmark operating system, and Dynamic Standards Consensus, the living standards model.

Standards participation is reserved for verified STEM.org credential holders. A STEM ID is required to vote, connecting participation to an identifiable member of the credentialing community.

Anonymous votes are not accepted. This makes contributions traceable and gives people and organizations with a direct stake in STEM.org recognition a structured way to help shape its meaning.

The DSC process enables verified credential holders to propose a standard, discuss the proposed change, and participate in the applicable voting and ratification process. A proposal should explain what needs to change and the educational evidence or practical experience supporting it.

The DSC article explains the governance model. For help with participation, contact STEM.org. Submitting a proposal does not automatically change an evaluation criterion.

DSC combines verified participation, traceable contributions, and documented decisions. Voting is credentialed and weighted rather than an unrestricted anonymous poll.

These safeguards are designed to resist manipulation and coordinated pressure while keeping the process connected to educational practice. Standards must be stable enough to support trust and flexible enough to improve when the evidence supports a change.

No. Final decisions remain with people. In governance, AI may help surface patterns or inconsistencies, but final standards decisions require authenticated human deliberation.

In evaluation, AI may help organize evidence, flag missing information, compare a submission with rubric categories, or summarize supporting material. Human reviewers interpret the evidence, apply contextual judgment, assign final scores, and approve credential status.

The DSC framework calls for proposals, standards changes, and voting outcomes to be documented and accessible to credential holders. That record allows participants to follow how an idea becomes a decision and how the standards evolve.

Questions about an applicable standard or the governance process can be directed to STEM.org. Governance participation does not replace the separate evaluation and qualification requirements for earning a trustmark.