The article is a commentary on "Evaluating English Learner Reclassification Policy Effects across Districts," by Joseph R. Cimpian, Karen D. Thompson, and Martha B. Makowski, which is a wonderful display of the power of combining current analytic methods, present-day educational data sets, practitioner-researcher collaborative arrangements, and key policy questions pertaining to the educational outcomes of English learners (ELs). The author of this commentary would like to put the work in historical context to appreciate its significance and imagine this line of work going forward. The author considers what a successful evolution of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act will look like in the course of the next half-century. [For the article, "Evaluating English Learner Reclassification Policy Effects across Districts," see EJ1155333.]