2024/25 year in review: The best of Xello and what’s next

We’re closing the books on the 2024/25 school year. Which features were your favorites?

After grades are submitted and you have a moment to catch your breath, the end-of-school-year is a great time to reflect over the past year. What were your proudest achievements? Your biggest challenges?  What went well and what do you want to do differently next year?

Xello aims to work alongside educators to make College and Career Readiness (CCR) as seamless an experience as possible, so we’re sharing our reflection on last year and looking ahead at what’s to come. 

Looking back on 2024/25: What launched?

Scattergrams

The college application process is time-consuming, and students often lack the knowledge to make informed decisions regarding admissions requirements and the cost of college. Scattergrams helps students better understand where they stand in terms of admissions and cost. With data-driven, interactive features that highlight their chances of admission at a selected college, students can make informed decisions. Educators can use examples rooted in data to guide students in setting goals and creating a strategic approach to their college applications. Learn more.

Parchment Unified Inbox (Grades 11-12)

Xello has partnered with Parchment–an Instructure company–to streamline the application process. This partnership enables students to request and send transcripts and recommendation letters electronically. Counselors can manage more applications with greater ease, as their workflow is streamlined in one central location, and realtime status updates ensure visibility at every step. Learn more.

Survey Reports (Grades 6-12)

Survey report enhancements provide educators with a visual breakdown and tally of students’ survey responses, so that you can easily and efficiently understand your students’ experiences, preferences, and needs. The detailed reports on students’ survey responses provide easy-to-access data that you can use to tailor your approach and deliver personalized support to each student, and educators can easily turn survey data into actionable strategies to drive student success. Learn more.

College Planning

There are several new features in College Planning that will help streamline the college application process.

• FAFSA Tracking enables students and educators to monitor the entire application process. Educators can easily assist students when needed. 
• Enrollment Decisions provides students a space to record their college enrollment decision, which gives educators greater visibility into where their students plan to attend college. This streamlines transcript requests and provides targeted support as students transition from high school to college.  

• Fee Waivers provide the ability to send fee waivers to their institutions of choice. This saves educators and students time and streamlines this process.

Translations

This exciting new AI translation feature translates material into over 130 languages, breaking down language barriers and increasing accessibility for students and enabling their parents to be active participants in the college and career planning process. Translations are available in both the 3-5 and 6-12 Student and Parent Portals. Learn more.

Xello Family

Xello continues to provide new ways for families to stay engaged in their student’s learning. The new Xello Family features help foster stronger collaboration between home and school, improve transparency with clear communication, and help educators track and support family involvement. 

• Two-Way Family Messaging allows educators to conveniently message students and their parents. Educators can send emails to groups of students, individual students, all parents, or any combination needed. This feature makes communication easy and accessible for all parties.  
• Family Engagement reports help educators better understand which students have parents and guardians who are actively logging into their Xello Family account. Educators can run reports based on a day, month, family member, or site. 

Course Planning: Mass Add and Remove Courses

Educators at the school level can add or remove courses for multiple students at once. By managing courses in bulk, you can simplify the process of planning courses for many students, ensure that the courses meet diploma requirements, and add courses based on specific specializations. This saves time, reduces manual work, and improves the efficiency of course planning. Learn more.

Work-Based Learning

This new feature allows students to add self-sourced WBL opportunities into Xello that educators can review and approve or deny. If approved, the opportunities exist like any other in the platform and can be tracked and managed. Learn more.

Looking ahead to 2025/26: What’s coming to Xello?

We’re excited for what’s coming to Xello in the 2025/26 school year. This year, we’re focused on giving educators the tools and support they need to streamline administrative tasks, so students stay engaged. Here’s a sneak peek of what you can expect:

The Real Game

Through simulations, interactive gameplay, and comprehension activities, The Real Game gives students an engaging way to experience adult life, sharpen their critical thinking skills and develop financial literacy. Educators can use resources and in-class activities to lead meaningful discussions,  reinforce the skills learned in the platform, and motivate purposeful planning. 

Completion Standards and Student Task List

Educators can use Completion Standards to assign and track student progress across lessons, over 90 activities, assessments and saved scholarships. This customizable feature provides clear expectations and helps keep students on track, and built-in resources like lesson plans and training materials are easily accessible in the feature. 

College Planning Educator Experience

The improved College Planning Educator Experience allows educators to stay on top of every step in the college application process. This feature streamlines college application tracking, so that educators can stay organized, reduce errors and missed steps, and consistently support students. 

Credentials Tracking

Aimed at helping schools stay on top of important certifications students need for graduation or career programs, Credentials Tracking eliminates clunky and inconsistent tracking and helps districts meet reporting requirements with confidence. This will also give educators and administrators a clear picture of where students stand, giving them more ownership of their journey.

Course Planner for Middle School

Xello Course Planner is coming to middle school in the 2025–26 school year! This will provide younger students with the ability to plan their middle school courses with confidence.

Conclusion

As we reflect on the past academic year and look ahead to the 2025-26 school year, we are excited about our continued efforts to support educators and help students prepare for their future. We are looking forward to hearing how The Real Game helps students learn about adult life and how Completion Standards ease tracking student progress.  

Xello aims to help every person create a successful future through self-knowledge, exploration and planning, and these launches are a reflection of that.

If you have questions and need support, you can access the Knowledge Base, email help@xello.world, or reach out to your success manager.