WIDA Consortium Benefits for Educators

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  2. WIDA Consortium Benefits for Educators

Working together to support states, territories and federal agencies, and their MLs


The WIDA Consortium is made up of 42 states, territories and federal agencies. State education agencies (SEAs) are responsible for establishing and maintaining their membership in the WIDA Consortium. This membership gives all educators in their state the opportunity to engage with WIDA by sharing feedback, participating in events and contributing to research.

This input and collaboration make the following elements of WIDA’s comprehensive system the best they can be.

  • Assess: research-based assessments to measure language proficiency
  • Teach: resources and instructional tools to support multilingual learners
  • Grow: professional learning opportunities aimed at empowering educators
  • Research: projects and publications that inform and progress the field of teaching and learning of multilingual learners
  • Standards: English language development standards for multilingual learners – the core of everything we do

Are you an SEA representative who wants to join the WIDA Consortium? Learn about membership benefits on the Join the WIDA Consortium page.

How to make the most of your membership

Sign up to receive emails from WIDA

Stay informed about WIDA resources, learning opportunities, and more! We offer several subscriptions including WIDA Monthly, WIDA Español News and The Big Idea.

Email Subscription Preferences

Bookmark your member/state page

Every state, territory and federal agency in the WIDA Consortium has its own webpage on the WIDA website! Find your page in the Member/State Pages dropdown menu at the top of every page of this website. Or visit the dynamic WIDA Consortium map below to locate your member/state page. Your member page is home to important information about how your SEA uses WIDA assessments, standards and professional learning. On your member page, expect to find the following types of information:

  • SEA representatives and their contact info
  • How to get a WIDA Secure Portal account
  • WIDA ACCESS testing dates
  • Testing checklists, guidance and requirements
  • Standards and instructional support
  • Professional learning opportunities

Take advantage of the Core Learning Collection

The WIDA Core Learning Collection provides on-demand, research-based professional development to strengthen instruction for multilingual learners. All offerings are available in the WIDA Secure Portal:

  • Choose from 13 workshops covering foundational and advanced topics.
  • Choose from seven videos for actionable strategies.

WIDA Self-Paced Workshops may take up to 4 hours, and WIDA On-Demand Videos typically take under 1 hour. The Core Learning Collection is perfect for individual professional development or a collaborative learning environment with colleagues.

Impact WIDA products and services

WIDA Consortium members can directly impact WIDA products and services by participating in assessment, professional learning and standards development efforts.

Examples of these activities include

  • Assessment fairness and content reviews
  • Assessment cognitive labs, pilot testing and field testing
  • Assessment quality control reviews
  • Focus groups on relevant WIDA products or services
  • Professional learning offering pilots
  • WIDA Fellows cohorts

Learn more about test development activities on the Building a WIDA Assessment page.

Is "WIDA" an acronym?

The name WIDA originally stood for the three states on the founding grant proposal: Wisconsin, Delaware and Arkansas. Today, the name WIDA has come to represent the full Consortium of states, territories and federal agencies, as well as an ever-expanding community of educators of multilingual learners.

Leverage WIDA’s research-based resources and tools   

WIDA has research-based resources and tools to support you as you use our assessments, standards and in-classroom teaching tools. Here are a few to get you started.

WIDA Snapshots

WIDA Snapshots are short, approachable introductions that help educators put concepts into practice in their work with multilingual learners.


Collaboration in Action
Integrated Learning Goals, Targets and Objectives: Weaving Together Content and Language
Feedback: The Heart of Classroom Assessment
Language Assessment Literacy for Teachers of Multilingual Learners
List all WIDA Snapshots

WIDA Webinars

WIDA Webinars are a free virtual learning opportunity offering insights and resources on a variety of topics relevant to educators of multilingual learners.

Visit the WIDA Webinars page for information on upcoming webinars and access to previous webinar recordings.

List all WIDA Webinars

WIDA Focus Bulletins

WIDA Focus Bulletins are in-depth publications highlighting research to practice on key issues in multilingual learner education.


Assessing K-12 Multilingual Learners' Development of the Language for Reading
Youth Voice: Expanding Educational Agency for Multilingual Learners
Designing Assessment Tasks for Kindergarten Multilingual Learners
Inclusive Practices for Multilingual Learners With Disabilities: Advocacy, Planning and Collaboration
List all WIDA Focus Bulletins