What xSEL Labs does

xSEL Labs is a K-12 social-emotional learning (SEL) assessment company built around its proprietary SELweb platform, a web-based, direct-assessment instrument that measures student social-emotional competencies in grades K-12 by having students demonstrate skills through narrated, illustrated tasks covering four domains: emotion recognition, social perspective-taking, social problem-solving, and self-control. The portfolio extends to a Brief Climate Survey for grades K-6 and an Educator SEL measures suite (beliefs, competency, and implementation), all grounded in peer-reviewed psychometric research and aligned to the CASEL framework. Norm-referenced scores are supported by large national validation samples (over 7,600 children across published studies), and the platform includes auto-rostering via Clever and ClassLink plus a district-level API for integration with eduCLIMBER, OTUS, ION, and Tableau.

The company serves U.S. K-12 public and private school districts as its primary market, with a secondary segment of universities and research organizations (Penn State, RAND, University of Virginia, RTI International, WestEd) using SELweb as an outcome measure in randomized field trials of SEL interventions. xSEL Labs sells through a direct enterprise sales motion with annual subscriptions; pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Named district customers include Los Angeles Unified School District, Lancaster School District (CA), Distinctive Schools, Glencoe District 35, Mineola UFSD, Eagle Mountain Saginaw ISD, Archdiocese of Chicago, and Mannheim District 83, alongside hundreds of additional districts and schools nationwide. The company also generates revenue from research design and outcome-assessment services for SEL program providers.

In 2023, xSEL Labs was acquired by 7 Mindsets, an SEL curriculum provider, with founder Dr. Clark McKown continuing as Chief Science Officer. Post-acquisition, xSEL Labs continues to operate as a subsidiary, with curriculum-alignment partnerships (7 Mindsets, BASE Education, Rosen Classroom FOSEL, Friendzy) and a Move This World partnership creating combined curriculum-plus-assessment offerings for joint district customers. The hosting relationship with 3C Institute underpins platform delivery.

Name

xSEL Labs

Legal name

xSEL Labs Inc.

Website

https://xsel-labs.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

xSEL Labs provides direct, web-based social-emotional learning assessments for U.S. K-12 schools and districts, led by its SELweb platform covering grades K-12 across four SEL domains. The company serves district administrators and curriculum leaders via annual subscriptions, and supports universities and SEL program researchers with validated outcome measurement; it was acquired by 7 Mindsets in 2023.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Educational Assessment Software

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Student Safety, Wellbeing & SEL Technology (Monitoring, Reporting) (EDAJAMAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) & Wellbeing Digital Curriculum (EDAFACAM)

Keywords

• Social-emotional assessment
• K-12 SEL measurement
• Direct competency assessment
• School climate survey
• Educator SEL measures

Headquarters

HQ city

Evanston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. SELweb Platform Subscription: xSEL Labs sells subscriptions to its SELweb assessment platform to K-12 school districts and individual schools. Subscriptions are structured per district/school and include access to competence assessments, climate surveys, educator surveys, reporting dashboards, and implementation support. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; the company uses a direct sales motion with quote-based engagement.
2. Research Services: xSEL Labs provides research design and outcome assessment services to universities, research organizations, and SEL program providers, including randomized controlled trials and field studies using SELweb as the measurement tool.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

xSEL Labs sells the SELweb assessment platform, a direct, web-based tool that measures K-12 students' social-emotional competencies by having them perform tasks rather than answer self-report surveys. Its portfolio includes the SELweb competence assessment, the Brief Climate Survey (K-6), and Educator SEL belief and implementation surveys, delivered primarily via annual subscriptions to school districts. It also offers research design and outcome assessment services to universities and SEL program providers.

Product overview

xSEL Labs offers a suite of social-emotional learning assessments centered on SELweb, a K-12 direct assessment platform that directly measures student competencies. The portfolio includes three core assessment products: SELweb for competence assessment, the Brief Climate Survey for school climate measurement (add-on module), and Educator SEL Measures for adult beliefs and implementation tracking. All products are research-based, aligned to the CASEL framework, and provide actionable data for educators to guide instruction and improve student outcomes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SELweb: The company's primary SEL assessment platform for grades K-12 that directly assesses social-emotional competencies.

Products and services

• SELweb Competence Assessment A direct social-emotional learning assessment platform for Grades K-12 that measures students' social-emotional competencies by having them demonstrate skills through answering questions and performing tasks (Emotion Recognition, Social Perspective-Taking, Social Problem-Solving, Self-Control). Provides competence reports at district, school, classroom, and student levels. Targeted at K-12 school districts and schools.
• Brief Climate Survey A six-item student climate survey for Grades K-6 that assesses school climate dimensions including student sense of safety, belonging, and instructional support. Available as an add-on to SELweb. Targeted at K-12 schools and districts measuring school climate.
• Educator SEL Measures and Services

Quantifiable outcome

• LAUSD teachers using SELweb data in professional learning communities saw measurable student SEL improvement within three months (spring 2022).
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• 3C InstitutecoreTechnology or Integration3C Institute is the hosting provider for the SELweb platform. They provide research-supported, evidence-based programs and custom software design services. 3C Institute also co-develops and delivers SEL assessment and intervention programs with academic and nonprofit partners.
• Pennsylvania State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPenn State investigators use SELweb EE (Early Elementary) to measure program outcomes in randomized field trials of SEL programs including the Friendship Connections Project (elementary peer-rejection intervention) and the PEAK project (SSIS Classwide Intervention Program). Multiple ongoing studies.
• RAND Corporation and Wallace FoundationflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Partnership for Social and Emotional Learning Initiative is a large-scale quasi-experimental field trial funded by The Wallace Foundation, coordinated by RAND Corporation, designed to coordinate and improve SEL practices across school and out-of-school settings. Investigators use SELweb EE and SELweb LE to measure program outcomes across multiple communities.
• University of VirginiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Virginia investigators are using SELweb EE in two major randomized field trials: the Compassionate Schools Project (health and wellness curriculum in Jefferson County, KY) and a study examining the efficacy of RULER on school climate, teacher well-being, classroom climate, and student outcomes.
• RTI InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRTI International is conducting a randomized field trial of ZooU, a computer game designed to teach social and emotional skills, using SELweb EE as the primary outcome measure. Funded by IES.
• WestEdminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWestEd partners with xSEL Labs in the context of research on game-based social-skills training programs (e.g., Adventures Aboard S.S. GRIN) using SELweb for outcome measurement.
• 7 MindsetsflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner7 Mindsets acquired xSEL Labs in 2023, strengthening the company's ability to help educators understand students' social and emotional strengths. 7 Mindsets provides an SEL curriculum that integrates with xSEL Labs' assessment suite. The acquisition enables tighter bundling of curriculum and assessment for joint district customers.
• BASE EducationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBASE Education is a CASEL-recognized mental health solution used by over 1,000,000 students. xSEL Labs and BASE Education are aligned as instructional partners, with complementary offerings in SEL curriculum and assessment.
• Rosen Classroom (FOSEL)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRosen Classroom's Focus on Social and Emotional Learning (FOSEL) is a CASEL-aligned literacy-based SEL curriculum for grades K-6. xSEL Labs has developed program alignments crosswalking FOSEL's scope and sequence to SELweb competencies, helping teachers using FOSEL use SELweb data to guide instruction.
• Move This WorldminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMove This World and xSEL Labs announced a new partnership, combining Move This World's SEL video-based curriculum with xSEL Labs' direct SEL assessment for a more integrated measurement and instruction solution.
• ClevercoreTechnology or IntegrationClever is a education technology integration platform that provides single sign-on and rostering for thousands of educational apps. xSEL Labs' auto-rostering by grade feature integrates with Clever, simplifying district onboarding.
• ClassLinkcoreTechnology or IntegrationClassLink is an education identity and access management platform. xSEL Labs' auto-rostering by grade feature integrates with ClassLink, enabling streamlined student rostering for districts using ClassLink for account management.
• Distinctive SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDistinctive Schools is a network of schools that has aligned its SEL curriculum and assessment across all campuses using xSEL Labs' SELweb, creating a data-driven approach to SEL that integrates into daily instruction.
• Lancaster School District, CAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLancaster School District partnered with xSEL Labs (alongside Committee for Children) to shift from punitive discipline to SEL-focused practices, becoming a regional leader in equity-focused SEL implementation. The district is a featured case study and webinar co-presenter.
• Northwest Education ServicescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNorthwest Education Services supports 16 school districts in Michigan using SELweb data to guide practice. Dr. Paul Bauer from Northwest Ed Services led a panel discussion on systems change to support high-impact SEL assessment data use, positioning Northwest Ed Services as a regional aggregator/distributor of xSEL Labs' assessments.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Aperture Education: Aperture Education (DESSA family) provides direct SEL competency assessments and intervention tools for K-12, including the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA) and DESSA-Mini, competing head-to-head with SELweb on teacher- and district-level SEL measurement.
• Panorama Education: Panorama is a leading K-12 student-success platform whose Panorama Student Survey covers SEL competencies, school climate, and well-being at the same buyer (district administrators) and use case (universal SEL/climate data) as xSEL Labs' SELweb suite.
• YouthTruth: YouthTruth (a NSNO initiative) provides student perception and school climate surveys widely adopted by K-12 districts; its SEL/climate measurement focus and nonprofit-district channel mirror xSEL's complementary assessment positioning.
• Tripod Education: Tripod's 7Cs survey framework assesses school climate, classroom community, and SEL-adjacent student perceptions for K-12 schools, often used in the same MTSS data workflows where SELweb climate and competence data are integrated.
• ACT Tessera: ACT's Tessera is a holistic student outcomes assessment covering social-emotional and behavioral skills alongside academic measures; targeting the same district SEL accountability use cases as SELweb.

Broad incumbents

• NWEA: NWEA's MAP suite is a dominant K-12 interim assessment, and NWEA has been expanding into complementary SEL and growth-measurement work; it competes for the same district data-infrastructure spend that drives SELweb purchases.
• Riverside Insights: Riverside Insights is a long-established K-12 assessment publisher whose portfolio (Iowa Assessments, CogAT, social-emotional inventories) competes broadly for district assessment and screening budgets that also fund SELweb.

Emerging players

• Second Step (Committee for Children): Committee for Children's Second Step is a CASEL-recognized SEL curriculum that pairs with various assessments; an alignment partner of xSEL Labs (alongside 7 Mindsets), it competes for district SEL budgets that could otherwise fund standalone assessment tools.
• Branching Minds: Branching Minds is an MTSS platform that integrates third-party SEL assessments (Panorama, DESSA, SELweb, etc.) and provides district intervention planning; an ecosystem-touching peer competing for a share of the SEL data-driven-instruction budget.
• BASE Education: BASE Education is a CASEL-recognized mental health and SEL solution used by over 1 million students and an explicit xSEL alignment partner; it overlaps with xSEL at the intersection of SEL curriculum and screening data for districts.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/xSEL_Labs
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@xsellabs
• Facebookfacebook.com/xsellabs
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/xsel-labs

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about xSEL Labs