At Ellevation, our mission is to help every English learner (EL) achieve their highest aspirations. We believe in the incredible potential of these students. Research confirms this: long-term proficient English learners have graduation rates almost equal to their non-EL peers. Some studies show that attendance, course grades, and other metrics are stronger for reclassified multilingual students as well. 

Yet, we all recognize a persistent challenge. It’s not a lack of willingness or capability from our educators. The challenge is that even the most dedicated teachers often lack the timely, actionable data needed to guide their instruction based on unique student needs. This creates a gap between instructional intent and EL student progress.

To truly transform student outcomes, we must bridge the divide between data and instruction.

The data gap

One of the most common frustrations we hear is captured perfectly by this educator quote: "My EL teachers are the only ones without recent data at data meetings".

In the past, English language proficiency assessments have been time-intensive, inconsistent, and disconnected from daily instructional needs. Schools rely heavily on annual summative assessments, and while these tests are essential for accountability, they are infrequent and the results often arrive too slowly to be acted upon in a timely manner.

This gap is never more apparent than at the start of a new school year. A teacher's most recent data point for a new student is often from the previous spring, resulting in teachers starting off the year with an outdated understanding of that student's proficiency.

Local assessments can lack specificity for ELs, using generic language measures that don’t reflect the unique progression of second-language acquisition. They are also not typically well-integrated with other instructional and EL program management tools, leaving educators with siloed student data that they have to try and manually connect for a holistic understanding of a student’s progress.

An all-in-one ELD solution

We believe the solution is a powerful, integrated system that connects data, instruction, families, and benchmark insights—a complete English Language Development (ELD) solution, all in one place. Each part builds on the last, creating a seamless approach to supporting students.

1. The foundation

Everything starts with a solid foundation. The Ellevation Platform serves as the central hub for your EL program. It streamlines program management, simplifies complex compliance and reporting , and unifies all student data in one place. This creates a single, comprehensive "playbook" for every student, ending the hunt for siloed data.

2. The missing link

With Ellevation Platform as the foundation, we can now close the data gap with our new Ellevation Benchmark (coming in early 2026). We believe that measuring English proficiency shouldn't be a year-long wait, so we are filling the missing link with benchmark assessments that provide educators with timely insights into their students’ proficiency growth and areas of development.. By allowing educators to administer short, 20-minute assessments up to three times a year, they gain  ongoing visibility into student progress across all four language domains – reading, writing, speaking, and listening – empowering them to make informed instructional decisions and transform the rate at which their students grow and succeed.

3. The approach

Data is only as good as the action it inspires. Ellevation Strategies connects the timely insights from Benchmark directly to the "how-to" of classroom instruction. When Benchmark data shows a student needs support in a specific area, Strategies provides teachers with a library of research-based instructional activities and professional learning modules to meet that exact need. It answers the critical "Now what?" question, empowering every teacher to support their ELs with confidence.

Connecting the dots to transform outcomes

By connecting compliance, timely data, and actionable instruction, we create a complete ELD solution that empowers educators and transforms student outcomes. We are committed to building this complete solution to ensure every English learner can grow and thrive.

We invite you to learn more by joining us for IMPACT 2025, our free, 3-day virtual conference celebrating the power of collaboration to help English learners reach their highest aspiration.

Registration is now open for the event, held December 2-4, 2025. We hope to see you there!