When assessment becomes part of learning, data can do more than measure progress—it can help move students forward.
INTERVIEW | by Victor Rivero
IXL supports more than 17 million students worldwide. In this EdTech Digest conversation, Jennifer Gu, Chief Operating Officer, and Kate Mattison, Vice President of Curriculum, discuss the company’s connected Assessment Suite, the new LevelUp Diagnostic, and how real-time insight can help educators personalize learning and support student growth.
K–12 assessment is clearly in transition—moving from high-stakes, summative tests to more frequent, formative insights. What do you think is driving this shift right now, and how does your approach reflect where assessment is headed next?
Jennifer Gu: Districts are looking for actionable insights—data that doesn’t just report scores, but gives teachers clear guidance that reflects the reality of their classrooms. They need to know what is happening right now, not a while ago, so they can step in before small learning gaps become major problems.
The future belongs to a diagnostic that shows exactly where a learner stands, in real time, on any given day. But data is only half the story. Instead of just delivering raw numbers, the assessment must create an individualized roadmap for every learner, pointing them to the exact skills they need to work on next. Our newest adaptive assessment, the IXL LevelUp Diagnostic, is the latest expression of that approach. We bridge the gap between data and smarter instructional decisions—and we’ve been doing it for years.
You’ve said you saw clear gaps in the traditional assessment market. What were the biggest pain points for educators and students—and how does your connected ecosystem aim to solve them?
Kate Mattison: Assessment should fuel instruction and deliver deeper insights when they’re needed most—without taking up a lot of time. Too often, that’s not what educators get. On top of that, most assessments were built for a system centered on a few high-stakes moments. Today, educators want a more flexible approach that supports both benchmarking and the quick, real-time check-ins that inform tomorrow’s lesson.
We designed the IXL Assessment Suite with that reality in mind. It connects benchmarking, real-time diagnostics, and personalized instruction into a single ecosystem, allowing students to move seamlessly from assessment into meaningful learning. The moment a student finishes a diagnostic, IXL points them to the exact skills they need to work on next.
Many platforms measure learning, but far fewer help teachers act on that data. How does LevelUp connect assessment results directly to instruction, and what makes that connection more powerful than a traditional test-report cycle?
Kate: Whether LevelUp is used as a benchmark or as an ongoing assessment, it automatically turns results into personalized action plans. Each plan connects directly to the IXL skills a learner is ready to work on next, transforming every assessment into immediate, targeted instruction.
Additionally, since learning doesn’t stop between testing windows, LevelUp is the only diagnostic that provides updates between benchmarks: With students spending just a few minutes each week answering questions in Real-Time mode, their action plans refresh. And teachers get a continuous, up-to-date picture of student progress so they can adjust instruction as learning happens.
‘…teachers get a continuous, up-to-date picture of student progress so they can adjust instruction as learning happens.’
That tight, automatic connection between assessment results and day-to-day instruction is what makes LevelUp fundamentally different from a traditional test-report cycle. LevelUp moves students up and onward like an escalator, smoothly carrying them toward the next level instead of testing, reporting, and repeating the cycle all over again.
Our approach is clearly resonating: This year, three times as many students are using the LevelUp Diagnostic. That’s proof that teachers are hungry for assessments that actually enhance instruction.
Why is now the right time for your company to expand its footprint in assessment? Was there a particular need, technology milestone, or classroom demand that made this moment right for LevelUp and beyond?
Jennifer: For years, IXL has supported millions of students by looking closely at how they learn and giving them the specific, personalized guidance they need to improve. We’ve seen that approach transform how schools teach, so the natural next step was to take everything we know about that kind of continuous personalization and apply it to the world of assessment. LevelUp and the rest of our Assessment Suite is helping bring that vision to life in one cohesive system.
How does LevelUp differ from IXL’s existing diagnostic tools—and what new opportunities does it open for teachers and districts looking for faster, more actionable insight?
Kate: LevelUp is the most psychometrically precise and efficient assessment IXL has built, designed to meet the rigorous expectations of states and districts.
By focusing solely on student performance during the assessment, it captures a true point-in-time picture of learning and maximizes the validity of benchmark data. Results are reported against individual state standards, making it easy for educators to see where students are excelling and where they need support. And because instructional time matters, LevelUp is intentionally efficient, with focused time limits that keep testing streamlined.
LevelUp offers full Spanish-language and audio support in math, ensuring that language isn’t an obstacle for students to show what they know. It also provides a critical early-warning system by flagging students who may be at risk for reading difficulties, like dyslexia.
With the platform already used by over 17 million students, how do you see assessment evolving within your larger learning ecosystem? Will we eventually see a seamless flow where testing and teaching are indistinguishable?
Kate: Our hope is that as more districts embrace LevelUp, and testing and learning become more connected in their instructional approach, assessment will no longer feel daunting—for students or educators. Instead, it will be a natural part of learning, where students tap into their curiosity and discover more about themselves, and teachers can stay informed and act right away.
As AI and adaptive learning continue to evolve, what’s next for your company in assessment? How do you envision technology helping educators not just measure learning but accelerate it for every student?
Jennifer: We are always looking for ways to use the latest technology to move students forward. As you mentioned, it’s not just about measuring learning; it’s about accelerating it. That means continuing making assessment faster and more accurate, and turning results into targeted recommendations the moment a student needs them.
Because we’ve mapped out the entire learning journey from Pre-K through high school, we can connect every measurement to a clear next step. Whether a student is stuck or ready for a challenge, we have more than 19,000 skills that meet them exactly where they are. We aren’t just giving teachers data, we’re giving them a way to help every student keep progressing.
You’ve seen countless changes in edtech and assessment over the years. What excites you most about this next chapter for IXL—and what keeps you cautious or grounded as the field changes so fast?
Jennifer: What fuels us every day is seeing how technology can change the lives of students from all walks of life. While we’ve accomplished a lot, we’re driven by the chance to keep pushing the limits of what’s possible in a classroom. With better technology infrastructure in schools today, there is so much more we can achieve for teachers and students. We can’t wait to keep innovating and making teaching and learning better for everyone, all over the world.
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Victor Rivero is the Editor-in-Chief of EdTech Digest. Write to: victor@edtechdigest.com
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