IXL launches new diagnostic tool for PreK-12 math and English that provides an evaluation in one hour – EdTech Innovation Hub

Analysis of the IXL LevelUp Diagnostic Tool and its Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals

This report examines the IXL LevelUp Diagnostic, an educational technology tool for PreK-12 mathematics and English language arts. The analysis focuses on the tool’s operational features and its alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

Core Functionality and Educational Application

The IXL LevelUp Diagnostic is designed to provide educators with a comprehensive understanding of student proficiency levels. It functions as a standards-aligned evaluation tool that identifies learning gaps, facilitates progress tracking, and supports institutional improvement strategies. A key feature is the generation of personalized action plans for each student, which links diagnostic data directly to targeted learning activities. This approach aims to transform assessment from a measurement exercise into a catalyst for meaningful, individualized instruction.

Alignment with SDG 4: Quality Education

The tool’s design and objectives directly support the achievement of SDG 4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. Its contribution can be observed across several key targets:

• Target 4.1 (Universal Primary and Secondary Education): By providing precise data on student proficiency and personalized learning pathways, the tool helps ensure that instruction leads to relevant and effective learning outcomes in foundational subjects like mathematics and English. It equips educators to address the specific needs of each student, fostering a more equitable path to educational completion.
• Target 4.5 (Eliminate Disparities in Education): The diagnostic’s ability to identify students requiring intervention and provide tailored support is crucial for ensuring equal access to quality education for all learners, including those in vulnerable situations. Personalized action plans help close learning gaps that contribute to educational disparities.
• Target 4.6 (Universal Youth Literacy and Numeracy): The tool’s specific focus on mathematics (numeracy) and English (literacy) directly contributes to this target. By diagnosing and remediating skill gaps, it provides a structured framework for achieving proficiency in these essential areas.

Contribution to SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

By promoting educational equity, the IXL LevelUp Diagnostic also contributes to SDG 10. Educational attainment is a critical factor in reducing broader social and economic inequalities. The tool supports this goal by:

• Empowering educators with data to provide targeted support, preventing students from falling behind due to unaddressed learning challenges.
• Promoting the academic inclusion of all students by creating individualized learning environments that adapt to varying proficiency levels and learning paces.

Operational Mechanics and Key Features

The implementation of the diagnostic follows a structured, data-centric process designed to bridge the gap between assessment and instruction.

1. Initial Assessment: Students complete a standards-aligned evaluation, which typically takes 45-60 minutes per subject.
2. Data Analysis and Reporting: Educators receive immediate, accurate data on each student’s grade-level proficiency, including a detailed breakdown by specific academic strands. This data is instrumental for both individual student support and parent communication.
3. Personalized Action Plan: The system automatically generates an action plan for each student, linking their diagnostic results to a library of over 19,000 targeted skills available on the IXL platform.
4. Dynamic Progress Monitoring: A real-time mode continuously updates student data as they engage with learning materials. Skills are automatically removed from a student’s action plan upon reaching proficiency, ensuring the learning path remains relevant and challenging.

SDGs Addressed in the Article

• SDG 4: Quality Education

  The entire article is centered on the IXL LevelUp Diagnostic tool, which is designed to improve educational outcomes. It focuses on assessing and enhancing student proficiency in core subjects like math and English, tracking progress, and providing personalized learning paths. This directly aligns with the fundamental goal of SDG 4, which is to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” The tool’s purpose is to make education more effective and data-driven, contributing to the quality of instruction and learning.

Specific SDG Targets Identified

1. Target 4.1: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.

   • The article states that the tool is available for “PreK-12 in math and English,” covering the full spectrum of primary and secondary education.
   • It aims to ensure “effective learning outcomes” by providing “accurate data on their grade-level proficiency” and helping educators “track student progress.” This allows for targeted interventions to ensure students are learning effectively.

2. Target 4.6: By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy.

   • The tool specifically assesses and provides support for “math” (numeracy) and “English” (literacy).
   • By identifying proficiency levels and creating “personalized action plans,” the tool directly addresses the need to build foundational literacy and numeracy skills among students, which is the core of this target.

3. Target 4.a: Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all.

   • The article highlights the tool’s role in creating more inclusive and effective learning environments. It helps educators in “helping educators to identify students needing intervention.”
   • Furthermore, it provides “personalized action plans for individual students,” which fosters an inclusive environment where each student’s specific needs are addressed, thereby making instruction more effective and equitable.

Indicators for Measuring Progress

1. Indicator 4.1.1: Proportion of children and young people (a) in grades 2/3; (b) at the end of primary; and (c) at the end of lower secondary achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in (i) reading and (ii) mathematics, by sex.

   • The article implies the use of this indicator by describing how the tool provides “accurate data on their grade-level proficiency, with a breakdown by strand” in both “math” and “English.”
   • This data is precisely what is needed to measure the proportion of students achieving proficiency levels, as outlined in the indicator. A teacher in the article uses it to get a “clear picture of where students are starting” and to show parents “exactly how their child is doing.”

2. Indicator 4.6.1: Proportion of population in a given age group achieving at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills, by sex.

   • The tool’s function is to measure proficiency in “math” (numeracy) and “English” (literacy). The “standards-aligned evaluation” it offers directly generates the data required for this indicator.
   • By assessing students and providing data on their proficiency, the tool acts as a mechanism to measure progress towards the goal of achieving widespread literacy and numeracy.

Summary Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: edtechinnovationhub.com