WIDA & Can-Do Descriptors

About the Consortium

The World-Class Instructional Design Assessment Consortium (WIDA) is a consortium of 29 states in the Northern Mariana Islands dedicated to the design and implementation of high standards and equitable educational opportunities for English language learners. The membership includes Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Georgia joined the Consortium in 2005. Three additional States, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah, have adopted the WIDA English language proficiency standards. The WIDA Consortium developed English language proficiency standards and an English language proficiency test aligned with those standards, access for e l l. More information about the weed of Consortium may be found at www.wida.us. 

Assessments and Screening Instruments

• ACCESS for ELLS

ACCESS for ELLS Is administered, annually, to all Multilingual Learners (ML) in South Carolina. It is a standards-based, criterion-referenced English language proficiency test designed to measure English learners’ social and academic proficiency and progress in English. It assesses social and instructional English as well as the language associated with language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies within the school context across the four language domains of speaking, listening, reading, and writing. ACCESS for ELLs meets the Title I law in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 which requires states to evaluate ELs in grades K through 12 on their progress in learning to speak English. All students identified as MLs must take the Access for ELLs, including students whose parents have waived MLP services; however, students who have formally exited language assistance services and are in the monitoring status (M’s) are not administered the assessment.

• W-APT

The WIDA-ACCESS Placement Test (W-APT) Is a screening instrument used by Educators to measure the English language proficiency of students who have recently arrived in the US or in a particular District. This screening tool was used to determine whether or not a child is eligible for English language instructional services. This screening tool is no longer available but may be found in students' records.

• WIDA Kindergarten Screener

This screening tool is used to determine whether or not a child entering kindergarten is eligible for English language instructional services. 

• WIDA Screener

This screening tool is used to determine whether or not a child entering 1st through 12th grade is eligible for English language instructional services. 

• WIDA English Language Proficiency Level Performance Definitions

The ACCESS for ELLs, Screener, and MODEL all provide an English language proficiency performance level score based on a scale of 1 to 6. The expectations for students at each of these performance levels are defined into charts, one for speaking and writing and one for listening and reading. These charts may be downloaded at no charge from the listing on the right side of the Wida standards website at http://www.wida.us/standrads/eld.aspx.

• WIDA Standards

The WIDA English Language Development (ELD) standards are designed as a curriculum and instructional planning tool. They help educators determine children's ELC levels and how to appropriately challenge them to reach higher levels. The five standards encompass the area of Social and Instructional language; the language of Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies.

The WIDA ELD Standards are:

• English language learners communicate for Social and Instructional purposes within the school setting.

• English language Learners communicate information, ideas, and Concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of Language Arts.

• English language Learners communicate information, ideas, and Concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of Mathematics.

• English language Learners communicate information, ideas, and Concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of Science.

• English language Learners communicate information, ideas, and Concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of Social Studies.

• MODEL Performance Indicators

A Model Performance Indicator is the smallest unit of a topical strand that describes the specific level of English language proficiency. A strand of MPIs consists of 5 levels of English language proficiency for a given topic and language domains and is thematically connected through common example topics or genres that have been identified from State and National academic standards. Detailed information regarding the model performance indicators may be found in the 2007 English Language Proficiency Standards at https://wida.wisc.edu/resources. Information about the 2012 Amplified English Language Development Standards may be found on the same webpage, under the 2012 Standards tab, or at https://wida.wisc.edu/resources/2012-amplification-wida-english-language-development-standards . The 2012 Standards are to be used in conjunction with the 2007 Standards. 

• Can-Do Descriptors

Information regarding the Can-Do Descriptors may be found in the Wida English including charts of the Can-Do Descriptors by grade level clusters are easily accessible in the Student Services Google Classroom and at https://wida.wisc.edu/resources?keys=&field_category%5B12%5D=12 These Descriptors provide teachers with excellent examples of what a student at each proficiency level can be expected to be able to do and allow teachers to differentiate instructional tasks to fit the needs of individual students.