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What’s the impact of Elevate?

Research shows that students are more engaged and successful when they experience certain learning conditions in class, like when schoolwork is made to feel relevant and meaningful ("meaningful work"); when critical feedback is provided in an affirming, growth-oriented way ("feedback for growth"); and when student-teacher relationships are supportive ("teacher caring").

In a 2022 study, students were more than 2x as likely to earn a B or better in math when they rated learning conditions most positively rather than most negatively, and the relationship between learning and math grades held even when controlling statistically for student race, gender, age, grade level, Free and Reduced Price Lunch (FRPL) status, and previous grades in the same math class. To read about each learning condition and research relevant to its impact on student outcomes, see Elevate Learning Conditions & References. Check out these videos to hear from students about the impact of their teachers using Elevate.

Figure 1 shows a graph with the percent of students earning an A or B in their math classes for different levels of agreement with statements about positive learning conditions. Each increment in the composite score is associated with 6% more students earning A's and B's, on average.Figure 2 shows the chances of earning a B or better for students experiencing negative vs. positive learning conditions, defined as scale composite scores greater than or equal to 5 (positive) vs. less than 5 (negative) on a seven-point scale as a function of race and FRPL status.

Elevate is a powerful, evidenced-based improvement tool that helps teachers gather and act on their students’ feedback in a systematic way. Over multiple cycles of inquiry and action, teachers and students partner together to establish classroom conditions that improve student engagement and learning outcomes. More than 75% of teachers improved classroom learning conditions when they used Elevate over multiple cycles of inquiry and action, and those learning conditions are strong predictors of academic engagement, success, and equity. You can hear directly from teachers who’ve used Elevate to improve in this article.

Elevate can also be used to secure federal or state funds that are reserved for programs that meet or exceed specific “tiers of evidence.” Our document on Elevate’s ESSA Tiers of Evidence can help education leaders cite the tiers of evidence that are relevant to their planned use of Elevate.

To learn more about why and how Elevate was created—and to learn more about its impact—check out these papers and videos:

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