ENGLISH PROFICIENCY
ASSESSMENT
Presentation by Stephanie Listman, Concordia
University Ann Arbor
*Disclaimer - this presentation is focused on Online Testing for grades 1-12 except where noted
Why Assess English Language Learners?
● Benchmark to gauge performance / progress
● Guide decisions on whether students need English language
support services
● Inform student placement into appropriate courses and
groups
● Aid instructional planning to meet individual student needs
● Meets Federal standards for Every Student Succeeds Act
(ESSA)
WIDA. (2022). ACCESS Tests. https://wida.wisc.edu/
Michigan uses WIDA Access to monitor and report
progress of English Language Learners (ELLs)
toward English language proficiency
Testing occurs in Feb/March
Why WIDA?
● University of Wisconsin- Madison (top five in
the field of education)
● Wisconsin Center for Education Research
● Offers research-based tools and resources to
develop language skills for multilingual
learners
● Student performance compared to EL
development standards
WIDA ACCESS Test Features
K-12; aligned with WIDA English Language Standards Framework
Administered annually; Online is default format, except for K
On-demand, online training for test administration
Assesses all 4 language domains
○ Reading
○ Listening
○ Speaking
○ Writing
● Alternate ACCESS for students with disabilities
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Test Administration
Grades 1-12
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Online (default) or paper/pencil if necessary
Adaptive - adjusts to individual student performance
Built-in accessibility / accommodations
Online format encourages high student engagement
Easy for group administration
Kindergarten
● game-like format administered individually on
paper
Preparation for test administrators
Partner with your district coordinator to complete these tasks:
✓ Setup a WIDA account / WIDA AMS (Assessment Management
System) account
✓ Complete administrator training for the assessments you will be
administering
✓ For a complete checklist of tasks, please refer to:
wida.wisc.edu/sites/default/files/checklists/MI-onlinechecklist.pdf
✓ Familiarize yourself with the Michigan specific test administrator
manual found at: michigan.gov/documents/mde
Test Prep with students - NO STUDYING NECESSARY!
● wbte.drcedirect.com/WIDA/portals/wida
● View the test demo (15 minutes) with
headset
○ Introduces features, item types
○ Click TEST DEMO
● Complete practice (5-10 minutes)
○ Click ACCESS for ELLs test practice
○ Select Domain, then appropriate grade
level
○ Login using provided credentials
● Repeat as necessary until students are
confident with the test platform
Online Test Experience Grades 1-12
● Listening (65 min)
● Reading (60 min)
● Speaking (50 min)
● Writing (90 min)
● Directions use motion
graphics to engage /
illustrate how students
need to respond
● Three sample problems
● Tool buttons (graphic
below)
Domain-specific features
Adaptive domains
(questions adjust easier/harder
based on performance)
● Listening and Reading must be completed before
other domains
● Performance determines
placement for Speaking /
Writing tiers
Non-adaptive domains
● Speaking - 3 tiers;
○ uses microphone feature
for spoken responses
● Writing - 2 tiers
○ Grades K-3 write
○ Grades 4-12 type
Kindergarten Test Experience
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Paper/pencil
Individual test
Game oriented with manipulatives
Storybook
Interactive
Encouraging feedback
Test continues until performance ceiling is reached
Different scoring than Grades 1-12
KINDERGARTEN SCORES
Score reports in same format as ACCESS 112
Scale score maximum = 400
Highest Proficiency Levels:
● Listening: 6.0
● Reading: 5.0
● Speaking: 6.0
● Writing: 4.5
Age appropriate - DOES NOT assess advanced reading / writing skills
All scoring by test administrator
SCORING TESTS - Grades 1-12
LISTENING
SPEAKING
READING
WRITING
● Machine scored
● Scored by trained
raters using unique
WIDA scoring scales
for each domain
WIDA Score Reports / Uses
● Individual Student Report
○ Students, parents, educators
● Student Roster Report
○ Class placement, grouping decisions
● Frequency Reports
○ Overall school, district, state
Score Types
● Scale scores - factor in item difficulty
○ Used to examine groups, student performance
longitudinally
● Proficiency Level scores - interpretive;
aligned with WIDA EL proficiency levels
● Raw scores - NOT included in score reports
Using Proficiency / Scale Scores
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Determine proficiency including program entry/exit
Monitor student progress
Guide instruction / assessment
Align with Can Do descriptors for each domain
Interpreting Domain Proficiency Scores
Domain Proficiency Scores
● indicate how well students can
use academic English
vocabulary in that domain
● show strengths and weaknesses
can inform…
● focus on specific domain(s)
● Instruction (e.g. scaffolding
opportunities using can-do
statements)
Student A has 2.5
Proficiency level of 2
Halfway toward proficiency
level of 3
Individual Student Score DOs and DON’Ts
Scores DO:
Scores DO NOT:
● Provide information about
English Proficiency
● Demonstrate what
students KNOW
● Compare domain
proficiencies
● Measure academic
achievement
● Compare across grade
levels
● Indicate educator
effectiveness
Interpreting Scale scores
Scale scores:
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ARE a single point in a band of scores
ARE NOT raw scores
Account for item difficulty
Represent a continuum from k-12
Confidence band
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Illustrates the range a student would
likely receive if tested again
Useful for:
✓ Tracking individual student
growth from grade to grade
over time
One more . . . COMPOSITE SCORE
Scale scores averaged across domains:
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Oral language (Listening/Speaking)
Literacy (Reading/Writing)
Comprehension (70% Reading/30% Listening)
Overall (roughly ⅓ Reading, ⅓ Writing, ⅓ Listening and Speaking)
Each is a summary presented as a proficiency level and a scale score
*Disclaimer: WIDA warns about using this score as more than a summary
WIDA Cautions about Score Interpretation!!!
● Focus on Growth and what the
student Can Do
● Use the first year test as a
baseline
● DO NOT compare scores prior
to 2016-17 to scores today
● Consider 2022 scores carefully
due to Covid interruptions to
student learning (although the
WIDA test is unaffected)
IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS
● Literacy in home language is a predictor of EL development
FASTER
Rate of Progress
SLOWER
Younger children
Older children
Oral Language (listening / speaking)
Literacy Skills (reading / writing)
Receptive language (listening / reading) Expressive language (speaking /
writing)
CONNECT ACADEMIC CONTENT TO LANGUAGE
Classroom activities
should integrate these
identified by WIDA
IMPLICATIONS FOR LESSON PREPARATION
● Identify/share clear
learning objectives with
students
● Use Can-Do descriptors
● Adapt content to student
proficiency levels
● Acquire visual aids and
hands-on learning
materials
● Make connections to
students’ experiences
● Highlight key vocabulary
● Utilize all domains
(Listening, Reading,
Speaking, Writing) in
language building
opportunities
IMPLICATIONS FOR INSTRUCTION
● Use speech appropriate for
student proficiency level
● Allow ample wait time
● Scaffold to encourage
growth to the next
proficiency level
● Focus instruction on
highly engaging activities
● Provide regular feedback
on student output
● Provide opportunities for
interaction and elaborated
responses
○ Negotiate meaning
○ Comprehension checks
● Emphasize key vocabulary
● Engage students with a
variety of techniques to
assure comprehensible input
● Assess comprehension
frequently
Resources for Guiding Classroom Instruction and Assessment
● ACCESS for ELLs Interpretive Guide for Score Reports for
more proficiency descriptors
● WIDA’s Can Do Descriptors listed by grade level clusters as
a quick reference for planning
● WIDA’s EL Development Standards Framework for more
information on grade level language expectations, functions
and sample language features
Example ELA Instructional Implications for this 4th grade student:
Focus on Speaking to Narrate:
Focus on Writing to Inform:
Use level 2 Can Do descriptor - “Describe
pictures, events, objects, or people using
phrases or short sentences”
Use level 1 Can Do descriptor - “Copy words,
phrases, and short sentences”
to scaffold up to
level 3 Can Do descriptor: “Re/tell short
stories or events”
To scaffold up to
level 2 Can Do descriptor - “Complete/produce
sentences from word/phrase banks or walls”
References
Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. (2021). WIDA Access for ELLS TAM Spring 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2022,
from https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/WIDA_Michigan_Specific_TAM_635431_7.pdf Board of Regents of the
University of Wisconsin System. (2020). WIDA English Language Development Standards Framework, 2020 Edition:
Kindergarten-grade 12. WIDA. Retrieved March 11, 2022, from https://wida.wisc.edu/sites/default/files/resource/WIDA-ELDStandards-Framework-2020.pdf
Board of Regents for the University of Wisconsin System, on behalf of WIDA. (2022). ACCESS for ELLs Interpretive Guide for Score
Reports. Retrieved March 11, 2022, from https://wida.wisc.edu/sites/default/files/resource/Interpretive-Guide.pdf
Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. (2021). WIDA Access for ELLS TAM Spring 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2022,
from https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/WIDA_Michigan_Specific_TAM_635431_7.pdf