WIDA ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 assessment stands for "Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State for English Language Learners." This is a comprehensive English language proficiency assessment used across multiple states in the United States.
ACCESS for ELLs measures students' English language proficiency in four domains: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. It provides scores on a scale from 1.0 to 6.0, with six proficiency levels: Entering, Emerging, Developing, Expanding, Bridging, and Reaching. The assessment is designed for students in kindergarten through grade 12.
WIDA ACCESS for ELLs addresses all four key assessment principles from the CAL tutorial effectively:
This assessment clearly answers the question "What do I want to know?" It measures academic English proficiency across all four language domains. The purpose is well-defined: to determine students' English proficiency levels for placement, progress monitoring, and exit decisions from ESL programs.
ACCESS has been extensively field-tested and shows consistent results across different administrations. It uses standardized procedures and trained administrators, which helps ensure reliable measurement of student proficiency.
The assessment is designed for large-scale administration in schools. It comes with clear guidelines, training materials, and support systems that make it practical for educators to implement.
The results directly influence important educational decisions like program placement, instructional planning, and graduation requirements. This creates positive washback when used appropriately.
This assessment is ideal for children and adolescents (K-12 students). The content, tasks, and language complexity are specifically designed for school-age learners. Adult learners would need different assessments that reflect their life experiences and immediate language needs.
ACCESS for ELLs is traditionally administered face-to-face in school settings. However, WIDA has developed online versions (ACCESS for ELLs Online) that maintain the same validity while offering more flexibility. The speaking component still requires one-on-one interaction with a trained administrator.
I would allow schools to administer the assessment twice per year instead of just once. This would provide better data on student progress and reduce the high-stakes nature of a single test event.
I would include more culturally diverse content and examples that reflect the backgrounds of ELL students. This would make the assessment more relevant and potentially reduce bias that might affect performance.
Instead of one long assessment session, I would break it into shorter modules that could be administered over several days. This would reduce student fatigue and provide more accurate results.
I would expand the speaking section to include more interactive tasks that better reflect real classroom communication, such as collaborative problem-solving or academic discussions.
I would include a component where classroom teachers can provide input about students' language use in authentic classroom situations. This would give a more complete picture of student proficiency.
These modifications address the CAL tutorial's emphasis on validity (better measuring what we want to know), reliability (multiple data points), practicality (easier administration), and impact (reducing negative washback while maintaining positive effects).
WIDA ACCESS for ELLs represents a well-developed assessment that addresses the key principles outlined in the CAL tutorial. While it has limitations, particularly around practicality and potential negative impact, it serves its intended purpose of measuring academic English proficiency effectively.
The assessment works best when educators understand its purpose and limitations, use results appropriately for instructional planning, and supplement it with other forms of classroom-based assessment. As the CAL tutorial emphasizes, no single assessment can answer all our questions about student language proficiency.