EL Assessment

Resources

Some links may require a login to the WIDA Website.

Manuals/Guides

• District and School Test Coordinator Manual
• Test Administrator Manual

• English Language Proficiency (ELP) Assessments
• Accessibility and Accommodations Guide
• Accessibility and Accommodations Guide - Missouri Policies Supplement
• WIDA-AMS User Guide
• WIDA-AMS User Guide Supplement: Submit Incomplete Domain
• WIDA-AMS User Guide Supplement: Data Validation

WIDA and ACCESS Resources

• ACCESS Ordering Directions
• ACCESS Pre-Coding Directions
• ACCESS Quick Reference Guide
• ACCESS To-Do Checklist
• Missouri WIDA State Page
• MOSIS EL Language Codes
• Required Training
• Test Administrator Essentials
• Upcoming and Recorded Webinars
• WIDA Account Creation Guide
• WIDA Secure Portal Help

Test Preparation

• Preparing Students For ACCESS
• ACCESS Practice And Sample Items
• ACCESS Online Practice And Sample Items
• Alternate ACCESS Sample Items
• Improving Speaking - ACCESS Speaking FAQ
• Improving Speaking - Oral Language In The Classroom
• Improving Speaking - Performance
• Improving Speaking - The Speaking Test And How It Is Scored
• Improving Speaking - WIDA Speaking Rubric Grades 1-12
• Improving Speaking - WIDA Speaking Scoring Scale Grades 1-12

Technology Resources

• Configuring a Windows Device With COS Service Device And INSIGHT For WIDA Online Testing
• Configuring a MAC OS Device With COS Service Device And INSIGHT For WIDA Online Testing
• Headset Specifications
• Network Evaluation And Troubleshooting
• Supported System Requirements
• Technology Readiness Checklist
• Technology Troubleshooting Guide
• Technology User Guide

Contact Information

Identification

Upon enrollment, Missouri districts are required to give a language use survey (LUS). The questions are:

• What was the student’s first language?
• Which language(s) does the student use (speak) at home and with others?
• Which language(s) does the student hear at home and understand?

If the answer to any of these questions notes a language other than English is either spoken or understood, or if a Local Education Agency (LEA) feels that a child might have an English language learning need due to unreported exposure to another language, the student is potentially an EL and the district must take active steps to determine if the student qualifies for language instruction educational program (LIEP).

More information about the Screener for Kindergarten, W-APT and WIDA Online Screener can be found in the EL Screening Guide.

Additional information and resources about identification can be found on the Identification tab on the DESE English Language Development page.

Screener Resources

• EL Screening Guide 2021-2022
• About WIDA Online Screener
• About WIDA Screener for Kindergarten
• Identification Chart For ELs 
• Newcomer Kit
• Required Screener Trainings

ACCESS for ELLs

ACCESS for ELLs is a secure large-scale English language proficiency assessment administered to students who have been identified as English learners (ELs). It is given annually to monitor students' progress in acquiring academic English.

The assessment allows educators, students, and families to monitor students’ progress in acquiring academic English in the domains of speaking, listening, reading, and writing and is aligned with the WIDA English Language Development (ELD) Standards.

The tasks on the assessment attempt to replicate the kinds of communicative situations (and the language needed to be processed or produced within them) that might be encountered in different school contexts. Each assessment item and task will target at least one of the five WIDA ELD Standards:

• Social and Instructional Language
• Language of Language Arts
• Language of Mathematics
• Language of Science
• Language of Social Studies

ACCESS for ELLs assesses each of the four language domains of Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing separately.

Purpose and Use of ACCESS

• Help students understand their current level of English language proficiency along the developmental continuum.
• Serve as one of multiple measures used to determine those students prepared to exit English language support programs.
• Provide teachers with information they can subsequently use to enhance instruction and learning in programs for their English learners.
• Provide districts with information that will help them evaluate the effectiveness of their ESL/bilingual programs.

Training and Test Administrators

Individual test administrators must be trained in its administration and have agreed to maintain the security of test questions. Test administrators are required to go through training if they have not previously done so. Your district testing coordinator or EL coordinator will be tracking electronically who has completed the screener training. Test administrators are required to re-train each year. Beyond training, the only other requirement is that the test administrator must be a district employee that, at a minimum, meets the requirements of a paraprofessional under Title I. Only those under contract with the district may give the Assessment.

To participate in training, log into the WIDA website, log into your My Account & Secure Portal page, look under “ACCESS for ELLs Training Courses”, choose the appropriate assessment and complete the training modules. Test Administrators only need to complete training courses for those assessments they will be giving.

Test Format

Reasons why a student may move from computer based testing to paper/pencil:

• It is an allowable accommodation for students with disabilities who have it in their IEP/504 plan.
• For students who are brand new to the country who may not have had access to computers, the district may choose to give the test to the student via paper/pencil.

Unlike our other state assessments, if any portion of the assessment is given via Paper/Pencil, the district will not enter those student responses. Instead, those responses will be shipped back with all physical testing materials.

Kindergarten ACCESS

About Kindergarten ACCESS

The test is an individually-administered, adaptive assessment. It is based on the WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards that form the core of the WIDA Consortium's approach to instructing and assessing English language learners.

The Kindergarten ACCESS assessment is:

• Individually administered
• Not tiered; all students take the same test
• All domains (Speaking, Listening, Reading, Writing) are tested twice, once within the expository section and once within the narrative section
• Speaking and Listening are presented together, alternating between a listening task followed by a speaking task
• All sections are adaptive, meaning items are presented until the student reaches his/her performance "ceiling"
• Scored locally by the Test Administrator
• High-interest stories
• Engaging color graphics
• Improved item types using manipulatives (cards, an Activity Board, and a Storybook)
• Thematic integration of the language domains (Listening, Speaking, Writing, Reading)

Test Scheduling

The Kindergarten ACCESS for ELLs assessment is individually administered.

WIDA recommends that Kindergarten ACCESS for ELLs be administered during one session. If test administration has to be divided into two sessions, the break must occur between the administration of the narrative and expository sections and the break should last no more than 2 consecutive school days.

The administration of Kindergarten ACCESS for ELLs is estimated to take approximately 45 minutes per student. The test is not timed.

Kindergarten Training Course

WIDA requires test administrators to complete the Kindergarten ACCESS Test Administration Quiz before administering the test. It is the district test coordinators responsibility to monitor whether test administrators have passed the quiz and are prepared to administer the assessment. District Test Coordinators can monitor their district educators’ training certification results via the WIDA website.

Alternate ACCESS

The Alternate ACCESS for ELLs is an assessment of English language proficiency for students in grades 1 – 12 who are classified as English learners (ELs) and have significant cognitive disabilities (those who do or would qualify for MAP-A) that prevent their meaningful participation in the ACCESS for ELLs assessment.

The assessment is based on Alternate Model Performance Indicators (AMPIs), which provide expectations of what students should be able to process and produce at a given Alternate ELP level.

The Alternate ACCESS for ELLs provides students with additional opportunities to demonstrate their English language proficiency through scripted cues in the Listening and Readings Sections and auxiliary questions in the Speaking Section. It also includes modeled tasks in the Writing Section to allow students to observe the test administrator perform the task before trying it. Other unique features of the test include simplified language, repetition of questions, increased graphic support, larger testing materials, and graphics.

The Alternate ACCESS for ELLs is an individually administered paper and pencil test. All sections of the assessment are scored locally by the test administrator.

Test Materials

Alternate ACCESS testing materials are ordered during the state ordering window through WIDA AMS.

Test Scheduling

The Alternate ACCESS for ELLs assessment is individually administered for all four sections (Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking) of the test. WIDA recommends that each test section be administered in a separate testing session.

The different test sections can be administered on different days, with no minimum or maximum break between administrations, as long as the entire assessment is administered within your district’s allotted testing window. Each section of the test is estimated to take approximately 20 minutes, although the test is not timed. Please see the Test Administration Manual for additional details on scheduling the test.

Alternate ACCESS Training Course

Test administration training and certification is crucial for successful administration of Alternate ACCESS for ELLs, and the answers to many frequently asked questions about test administration can be found in the training. WIDA requires test administrators to complete the Alternate ACCESS Training Course before administering the test. It is the district test coordinators responsibility to monitor whether test administrators have passed the quiz and are prepared to administer the assessment. District Test Coordinators can monitor their district educators’ training certification results via the WIDA website.