WIDA Consortium

The WIDA Consortium is a cooperative education organization centered on the development and implementation of language-development standards and assessments for students in kindergarten through grade 12. It primarily serves English-language learners, also described in many education systems as multilingual learners, and provides tools that help education agencies and schools identify students who may need language-support services, measure their proficiency, monitor progress, and guide instruction. WIDA was established in 2003 through a U.S. Department of Education Enhanced Assessment Grant awarded to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Its original participating jurisdictions were Wisconsin, Delaware, and Arkansas, whose names initially supplied the acronym WIDA. Arkansas later left the consortium, and the organization subsequently expanded its membership. The former expansion of the acronym as “World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment” is no longer used as the organization’s formal name. The consortium’s work is organized around standards, assessments, professional learning, and research. Its principal standards framework is the English Language Development Standards Framework, which describes language expectations and progressions connected to academic learning. WIDA also develops Spanish-language proficiency standards and assessments. Its assessment portfolio includes WIDA Screener, used to help determine whether newly enrolled students may qualify for English-language services; ACCESS for ELLs, an annual assessment for identified English-language learners; Kindergarten ACCESS for ELLs; WIDA Alternate ACCESS for students with significant cognitive disabilities; and WIDA MODEL, an interim assessment used to monitor language development during the school year. These assessments address listening, speaking, reading, and writing, with formats and administration procedures varying by grade, assessment, and jurisdiction. WIDA assessment results can support several education decisions, including initial identification, instructional planning, progress monitoring, program evaluation, and decisions about exiting language-support services. Local and state agencies establish the policies and score criteria used for those decisions. WIDA also provides testing accommodations for eligible students with disabilities, intended to improve access without changing the skills being measured; the accommodations available in practice can depend on state policy. The consortium operates through partnerships with member state and territorial education agencies and with external organizations involved in applied linguistics, assessment development, and test delivery. Identified partners include the Center for Applied Linguistics, MetriTech, and Data Recognition Corporation. Its administrative office is located within the Wisconsin Center for Education Research at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. According to the referenced encyclopedia material, the consortium currently includes 42 U.S. states along with the District of Columbia and several U.S. territories, affiliated jurisdictions, and federal education systems. WIDA therefore functions less like a consumer-facing commercial brand and more like a public-sector education-services and assessment consortium whose products are adopted or authorized by participating education systems.

WIDA originated in the early-2000s expansion of U.S. state efforts to improve the quality and comparability of academic and language assessments. In 2003, the U.S. Department of Education awarded an Enhanced Assessment Grant to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to support the creation of English-language proficiency standards and assessments. The initial consortium consisted of Wisconsin, Delaware, and Arkansas. The three jurisdictions supplied the original meaning of the acronym, although Arkansas later departed and the acronym’s earlier expansions ceased to function as the organization’s current formal name. The consortium was created in the context of federal accountability and assessment requirements associated with the No Child Left Behind era. Its central task was to help participating education agencies establish clearer expectations for English-language development and develop assessments with sufficient quality, validity, and reliability for use with K–12 English-language learners. Over time, WIDA evolved from a small group of states into a broader network of state, territorial, federal, and affiliated education systems. WIDA’s standards work is expressed through its English Language Development Standards Framework. The framework is intended to connect language development with academic content and to describe how students can progress in the language needed for school participation. In addition to English-language development resources, the consortium has developed standards and assessments for Spanish language learners. Its broader work includes professional development for teachers and other educators, technical assistance, and research into instructional practices and language assessment. The assessment portfolio expanded into several uses and student populations. WIDA Screener is designed for students entering a school system and helps educators determine whether further English-language support may be appropriate. ACCESS for ELLs became an annual assessment for identified English-language learners beginning in the 2005–06 academic year. It measures listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and is available in online and paper formats. Kindergarten ACCESS for ELLs uses an individually administered format suited to younger learners. WIDA Alternate ACCESS serves K–12 English-language learners with significant cognitive disabilities, while WIDA MODEL provides an interim option for monitoring language development during the school year and is used in the United States and some other countries. WIDA assessments are designed to produce information that can be used for identification, instructional planning, progress monitoring, program evaluation, and decisions about whether students continue to receive language services. The consortium permits specified accommodations for students with disabilities, although state or jurisdictional policies determine which accommodations may be used in a particular testing program. Similarly, the criteria for interpreting scores and exiting language-support services are established by the relevant education agencies rather than solely by WIDA. The organization’s delivery model depends on collaboration. In addition to its member education agencies, WIDA has worked with the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, D.C., and assessment and testing organizations including MetriTech and Data Recognition Corporation. Its administrative office is housed in the Wisconsin Center for Education Research at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The consortium’s current membership includes 42 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, the Northern Mariana Islands, the United States Virgin Islands, Palau, the Bureau of Indian Education, and the Department of Defense Education Activity, according to the referenced Wikipedia material. WIDA remains an active education-services consortium whose main institutional role is to support coherent language-development expectations and assessment practices across participating systems.

• 2005

  ACCESS for ELLs begins annual administration

  [1]WIDA Consortiumen.wikipedia.org

  ACCESS for ELLs began annual administration in participating member states during the 2005–06 academic year, providing a recurring measure of English-language development for identified English-language learners.

• 2003

  WIDA is established through a federal assessment grant

  [1]WIDA Consortiumen.wikipedia.org

  The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction received a U.S. Department of Education Enhanced Assessment Grant to create English-language proficiency standards and assessments. Wisconsin, Delaware, and Arkansas formed the original consortium.

• Expansion beyond the founding states

  [1]WIDA Consortiumen.wikipedia.org

  The consortium expanded from its original three-state structure to include a large network of U.S. states, territories, federal education systems, and affiliated jurisdictions.

A research-informed, public-sector education consortium focused on language development standards, assessment, and instructional support for multilingual learners in K–12 education.

• Language-development standards

  WIDA English Language Development Standards Framework

  WIDA’s principal standards framework describes academic language development expectations for multilingual learners across K–12 education. It is intended to connect language learning with classroom content and to help educators and education agencies plan instruction, interpret proficiency progress, and align language-support programs with academic goals.

• Student identification assessment

  WIDA Screener

  WIDA Screener is used with newly enrolled students to help schools determine whether they may need English-language learner services. Versions include a kindergarten assessment administered individually and online or paper options for older grades. Results support initial placement and eligibility processes, subject to the policies of the relevant school district or state education agency.

• Annual English-language proficiency assessment · 2005

  ACCESS for ELLs

  ACCESS for ELLs is an annual assessment for identified English-language learners in grades 1–12. It covers listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and is offered in online and paper formats. The online version is adaptive, while writing for younger elementary grades may use paper materials. Scores can inform progress monitoring, instruction, and state-defined service-exit decisions.

• Kindergarten English-language proficiency assessment

  Kindergarten ACCESS for ELLs

  Kindergarten ACCESS for ELLs is an individually administered paper-and-pencil assessment for kindergarten students identified as English-language learners. It evaluates the same broad language domains as the larger ACCESS program while using procedures and materials designed for younger children.

• Alternate language-proficiency assessment

  WIDA Alternate ACCESS

  WIDA Alternate ACCESS is an annual K–12 assessment for English-language learners with significant cognitive disabilities. It is administered individually and addresses listening, speaking, reading, and writing through an alternate assessment approach. A student’s individualized education program team and applicable state criteria help determine whether this assessment or the standard ACCESS program is appropriate.

• Interim language-proficiency assessment

  WIDA MODEL

  WIDA MODEL is an interim assessment used to monitor English-language development during the school year. It assesses listening, speaking, reading, and writing for grades 1–12 through online or paper formats, while the kindergarten version is paper-based and individually administered. It is used in the United States and in several other countries.

1. 1WIDA Consortiumen.wikipedia.org
2. 2WIDA official websitewida.us