🔐 Account type(s) with default permissions to manage this: Administrator (Specialist permissions may vary)
💻 Tier(s) this is available for: Foundation, Essential, Pro
To keep your EL program records current and meet CDE compliance requirements, Ellevation lets you monitor English learner (EL) and Reclassified Fluent English Proficient (RFEP) students by automating data tracking and collecting educator input through Forms. This guide walks you through setting up, launching, and analyzing a monitoring Cycle.
Use the links below to jump to any step:
- Step 1: Review and Choose Templates
- Step 2: Course Tagging, Permissions, and Adding Students
- Step 3: Create a Cycle and Adjust Assignments
- Step 4: Send Out and Monitor Completion
- Step 5: Analyze and Print and Conclude Cycle Processes
Download a printable copy of these steps: PDF, Google Doc, or Word doc.
Step 1: Review and Choose Templates
Start by reviewing and choosing a Forms template. Ellevation provides pre-built templates that follow best practices and align with how monitoring is conducted in California.
To access your district's Form Templates:
- Click the Admin menu icon, then go to Forms Settings > Templates.
- Click the name of a Form Template to preview it.
Choose the EL Progress or RFEP monitoring template by clicking its name. If the template looks good as is, you're done with this step. Remember the template name, because you'll need it in Step 3.
Optionally, you can add, configure, or remove sections in the Forms builder. Once your template is ready, click Save. Learn more about configuring Form Templates.
Step 2: Student and Teacher Criteria
Next, set up the correct student and teacher criteria so the right people receive the right forms. This step ensures that:
- course names are tagged to the right subject areas so the correct teachers receive forms,
- the correct students are selected by using a Student List View, and
- teachers, Specialists, and others have the permissions they need to work with Forms as their role requires.
Course Tagging
Make sure course names are tagged to the correct subject areas. Each course in a Cycle must be assigned to a subject area so that the right teachers are matched to the correct forms. Learn more about course tagging.
- Click the Admin menu icon, then go to Forms Settings > Course Tagging.
You can tag courses individually or bulk tag multiple courses at once. Use the Search bar to find keywords (for example, ELA, Science, Band) or Course Codes to locate groups of similar courses. To bulk tag, check the box to the left of Course Name, then select Bulk Tag > choose a subject area > Tag Courses.
For any courses that should not receive forms, click the Exclude from Forms button and then tag the subject area.
To quickly find any untagged courses, use the Content Area drop-down and select Untagged.
Permissions
Confirm that each role has the right permissions. Adjust your Forms permissions so educators can access and complete their assigned forms. You may also need to adjust permissions for EL Specialists, principals, or other site leaders who manage or support monitoring workflows in Ellevation and need access to some or all Forms features.
- Click the Admin menu icon, then go to User Management > Permissions. Learn more about permissions.
- Scroll to Form Assignments and edit permissions so each Account Type has the appropriate access.
- As needed, review and adjust other Form permissions (for example, Form Cycles, Form Templates, Contributor Management, Course Tagging) based on who else in your district will manage or support these workflows in Ellevation.
💡 Quick Tip
Teachers typically have permission to View Form Assignments, which lets them access and complete only their own assigned forms.
Adding Students
Decide which students to include in the monitoring Cycle. Create a Student List View so the Cycle knows exactly which students to include. Alternatively, once a Cycle is created, you can add students manually from the Student List. Learn more about adding students.
ℹ️ Note
If you already have a saved View with the correct students, you can skip this step and move on to permissions.
- Navigate to Students > Student List.
- Add filters (on the left) to narrow your list. A common filter is EL Status, which lets you display only current EL or RFEP monitored students. Learn more about filtering students.
- Once you have filtered for the correct students, click Save As to name and save your View.
💡 Quick Tip
Name your View something easy to remember and find (for example, 2025/26 RFEP Monitoring).
Step 3: Create a Cycle and Adjust Assignments
Create Your Cycle(s)
- Select Forms from the main Ellevation navigation.
- Click New Cycle at the top right.
- Fill out all the New Cycle information. Use the appropriate monitoring template and the Student List View from the previous steps, then click Save.
⚠️ Warning
Only the Cycle Name and Due Date can be changed after you select Save. Review all other settings carefully before saving.
💡 Quick Tip
If monitoring is ongoing throughout the year, the Due Date is optional.
Adjust Assignments
Once you have created a new Cycle, you can match forms with specific educators (called contributors in Ellevation). If an educator appears on a student's schedule for a tagged course, that educator is matched to the form during the match process. Matching lets educators receive email reminders and easily access their forms. Learn more about matching contributors.
⚠️ Warning
Run the match right before you launch your Cycle (Step 4) to ensure course schedule data is accurate.
- From your newly created Cycle page, click the Match button, select Create a separate form for each contributor, then click Yes, Match.
- Review the matched results in the Contributors column.
- As needed, manually match contributors by checking one or more forms and selecting Manage Contributors from the Actions menu. Then add, edit, or remove contributors.
Step 4: Send Out and Monitor Completion
Set Your Cycle from Draft to Live Mode
- From your Cycle page, click the Draft/Live/Closed button (it will be set to Draft).
- From the drop-down, select Live.
Once your Cycle is live, the forms are viewable to all educators who are assigned or permissioned to view them. If you set your Cycle live by accident, set it back to Closed for now, then return it to Live when you're ready.
Send Notifications and Reminders
Send reminders to educators so they know they have forms to fill out. Learn more about sending forms and tracking progress.
- Check one or more forms for which you want to send reminders on the Cycle page. To select all forms, check the box next to Student and click Select all students that meet this search across pages.
- Click the Actions button and select Notify/Remind. This sends an email to each educator who has forms to fill out, directing them to complete their forms in Ellevation.
💡 Quick Tip
Educators assigned to more than one form receive only one email per notification. They do not need the link from the email to access their forms, though it may be more convenient. Any educator with assigned forms can view them by clicking Forms in the navigation.
Monitor Forms Progress
As forms are completed, use the clickable status buckets on your Cycle page to review which forms are not started, in progress, done, or submitted. Learn more about tracking Cycle progress.
As needed, re-send reminders to educators to complete their forms by repeating the steps above.
💡 Quick Tip
For any students who enroll after the Cycle has been created, you can add them easily. It's good practice to complete these steps on a regular basis:
- Click the ⋮ icon at the top of the screen, then click Get new students.
- Review the list, then click Yes, get new students. Note that new students will need to be matched.
Step 5: Analyze and Print
Use the resources below to analyze Form results in the Student List:
- Filter for specific responses
- Visually chart form data
- View or export your Student List View as a spreadsheet or CSV
- Make dashboards to visualize your data and share with others
Sample dashboard: https://app.ellevationeducation.com/?dashboardId=52490
💡 Quick Tip
Clone the sample dashboard in your database and adjust the tiles to match your monitoring periods, quarter dates, and template questions.
Post-Monitoring Steps: Conclude Cycle Processes
After you have collected your forms, a few steps remain to wrap up the workflow. See the article on Concluding Cycle Processes.