Using EL data to drive professional learning

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Using EL data to drive professional learning

Using English learner data to drive professional learning

This blog is based on a recent webinar presented by Rocío Figueroa. Watch the full recording here.

Much like educators rely on checks for understanding throughout lessons to be able to better convey instructional materials, English learner (EL) progress monitoring should happen throughout the school year. During these intervals, we are gathering data and input from multiple stakeholders—teachers, counselors, parents, and even students themselves—to gain a more complete picture of student growth and opportunities. This data can reveal patterns in language development, highlight gaps in instructional support, and pinpoint areas where educators may need additional strategies or resources. However, simply collecting data isn’t enough.

To be truly impactful, it must be analyzed using the right tools and frameworks, then translated into actionable next steps. One of the most effective ways to act on progress monitoring data is through targeted professional learning, ensuring educators have the knowledge and strategies needed to respond to their students’ evolving needs.

“Only twenty percent of teacher preparation programs were found to support teachers with enough coursework to support multilingual learners in a 2022 report from the National Center of Teacher Quality.

This means that the vast majority of teachers do not have enough coursework or practice before they step into a classroom to work with multilingual learners, which is quite shocking because even at the lowest statistics, one out of every ten students in a classroom is a multilingual learner. ”

Rocío Figueroa
Senior Instructional Content Manager

Gathering EL data

The goal of EL progress monitoring is to make sure that ELs are making adequate progress on their journey towards language proficiency and exiting out of the program. Many districts already have templates built out to use for this process, but for districts who do not yet have a standard form, we recommend building one around your exit criteria. For example, if a state only uses a specific ACCESS score to exit the EL program, you can include data on how the student is developing in each language domain to get a better idea on how a student might perform on the ACCESS test.

Our template library will help your team build the right template for you to get on-demand information about how your students are doing and be able to adjust accordingly. As you create the template, you can use both quantifiable and qualitative data to build deeper understanding - which research tells us is the most effective way to gather information about students. Learn more about features in Forms here.

Acting on data collected during monitoring is key in fostering student success in two distinct ways: empowering educators to adjust their instructional decisions to better meet the needs of their learners, and guiding staff professional learning.

Analyzing data to inform instructional decisions

Once you have created your template and gathered input from stakeholders, it’s time to analyze the data - and for districts with Ellevation Platform, you can do this right on your dashboard. Educators can leverage our student list to create different data tiles that become your dashboard, which are powerful for visualizing key data and easily making comparisons. For example, you can compare academic performance relative to a student’s English proficiency assessment level.

Composite level vs academic performance EL student data comparison chart from Ellevation Platform product

These data visualizations help identify trends and inform instructional decisions. But dashboards also make it easy to connect this data to staff professional learning opportunities. Districts who use Ellevation Strategies can use insights pulled from progress monitoring to determine what professional learning will be most beneficial to staff and have the greatest impact on student learning.

Exploring the power of choice in professional learning

After determining the focus area(s), the next key step is to offer educators personalized professional learning experiences. Educators have so much on their plates, and sometimes they don’t have capacity for a full day of training. By offering the power of choice - providing options across a range of time commitment and depth - so staff are empowered to choose something that is applicable to their work and reduces overwhelm. In this free resource educators can see a variety of professional learning options from blogs that take five minutes to Ellevation Strategies modules that take an hour and a half to complete on topics like supporting newcomers, strengthening students’ output, building classroom culture, and more.

This will also support students by having instruction adjusted to their needs by teachers learning new strategies that address those needs, leading to more student engagement and academic success.

Rocío Figueroa is a dedicated advocate for educational equity and currently serves as the Senior Instructional Content Manager at Ellevation. With a master's degree in educational leadership and nearly two decades of experience, she has worn many hats—teacher, coach, administrator, adjunct professor, and consultant. Her expertise lies in second language acquisition for multilingual learners, and she’s passionate about supporting educators like you in making an impact.