Given
m: Mass
m = 2325 kg
T: Tension
T = 38.8 kN
Procedure
First, let's make a free body diagram for the elevator. There are two interacting forces, the weight which we will symbolize with the letter W and the tension which we will symbolize with the letter T.
We will perform the summation of forces on the Y-axis, following Newton's second law.
![\begin{gathered} \Sigma Fy=ma \\ T-mg=ma \\ a=(T-mg)/(m) \\ a=\frac{38.8kN-2325\operatorname{kg}\cdot9.8m/s^2}{2325\operatorname{kg}} \\ a=6.88m/s^2 \end{gathered}]()
The acceleration of the elevator would be 6.88 m/s^2 in the upward direction, so it would be positive.