193. The 3 essential tracking systems every ELL teacher needs, without drowning in paperwork.

Are you feeling overwhelmed by all the paperwork that comes with assessing and tracking your English learners?

You’re not alone. Many ELL teachers ask the same questions: How do I assess my students without drowning in forms? How do I keep track of their growth in a way that’s meaningful and sustainable?

In this episode of the Equipping ELLs Podcast, Beth breaks down the three essential tracking systems every ELL teacher needs to stay organized and support student success—all without adding extra stress to your workload. She shares simple, practical tools you can start using right away to monitor growth, set goals, and clearly show progress to students, parents, and administrators.

You’ll learn how to:

• Use quarterly progress monitoring for consistent snapshots of student growth.
• Implement generic rubrics that work across assignments and grade levels, making it easier to measure language development and communicate goals.
• Build language portfolios that tell the powerful story of each student’s growth through their own work samples.

Beth also explains where WIDA standards fit into all of this—helping you move from “Where are my students now?” to “Where should they go next?” She walks through her FAST framework to simplify lesson planning with WIDA.

Ready to put this into action? Here are some resources mentioned in today’s episode:

• Free Generic Rubrics → DM the word rubrics to Equipping ELLs on instagram to get your free set.
• Simplified WIDA Can-Do Descriptors Guide → Download it for free.
• Equipping ELLs Membership → Access all the tools, resources, and support you need for K–12, all language levels, and all domains at www.equippingells.com. Use code EQUIP20 to take 20% off the yearly membership.
• Digital Portfolios with Kelly → Listen Here.

By the end of this episode, you’ll have a clear path to tracking progress that not only saves your sanity but also builds student confidence and guides meaningful instruction.