ACCESS for ELLs Scores and Reports

Resources to help educators understand student scores

WIDA provides sample score reports, guides for understanding them, rubrics to connect results with instructional plans, and other resources to engage with families about what it all means. Every year, individual states set their own testing and score reporting timelines. Visit your member/state page to learn when students will test and when you can expect score reports.

Please see WIDA Alternate ACCESS Scores and Reports page for information on scores and scoring for that assessment.

Types of Scores and How To Use Them

Types of Score Reports

The same types of score reports are generated for all students taking ACCESS for ELLs (Online, Paper and Kindergarten).

All of the score reports provide score information for the same eight categories: four domains and four composite areas (Oral Language, Literacy, Comprehension, Overall). Composite scores are created from two or more domain scores.

Expand each score type below for more information and sample reports.

Individual Student Report (ISR)

The ISR shows all the scores for an individual student. It provides brief descriptions of each proficiency level with a lot of visual support. Translated copies can be sent home with students and discussed at conferences with parents or guardians.

Use when your focus is on a single student
Use when talking to the student, their parents or guardians, and their other educators
Refer to the Speaking and Writing Interpretive Rubrics when looking at those scores

Sample Reports

Sample ISR (English)
Sample ISR (Spanish)

These are just example reports. After testing is complete, ISRs will be available in many languages in WIDA AMS.

Student Roster Report (SRR)

The SRR contains information about a group of students within a single school and grade. It does not have visual supports or descriptions of each proficiency level, but it provides a concise overview of the results of a group of students.

Use to look for patterns in student performance that could inform:

Class placement
Forming work groups in a class
Identifying students who would benefit from different or additional support

Sample Report

Sample Student Roster Report

Frequency Reports

WIDA provides three frequency reports: School, District and State. They show the number and percentage of tested students (per grade) who scored at each proficiency level. Frequency reports do not show the performance of individual students. Instead, they provide an overview of a large group’s performance.

Use to gain a sense of the success of school, district or state-wide efforts in educating ELs
Consult when planning, developing or restructuring language services for ELs
Avoid generalizing about the meaning behind differing scores, especially when the number of students is small

Sample Reports

Types of Scores

Raw Scores are the actual number of items or tasks the student responded correctly to. This score is the starting point, but since it doesn't take item difficulty into account, it doesn't help educators understand student performance. For this reason, raw scores are not included on ACCESS for ELLs score reports.

Scale Scores take item difficulty into account, so educators can use them to examine groups of students, or student performances over time. Scale scores on the domain tests are used to calculate the composite score categories.

Proficiency Level Scores provide an interpretation of scale scores. On ACCESS tests, they align to the six WIDA English language proficiency levels.

Understanding ACCESS for ELLs Scores

The Interpretive Guide for Score Reports is a comprehensive document explaining the types of scores reported for students in grades K-12 who take ACCESS for ELLs assessments.

Interpretive Guide for Score Reports

Using ACCESS for ELLs Scores

ACCESS for ELLs scores have many potential uses, from determining student placement to guiding the creation of new curricula. Test scores work best as a way to aid decision-making, in cases such as:

Establishing when English learners have attained English language proficiency according to state criteria
Making decisions about program entry and exit
Informing classroom instruction and assessment
- Which domains teachers could focus on
- What the WIDA ELD Standards Framework says about students’ current proficiency levels
- How teachers can scaffold using the next level up
Monitoring student progress by comparing current scores to previous scores
Deciding on staffing levels

Use rubrics to understand the scores students earn on WIDA assessments, analyze student performance in the classroom, and plan ways to scaffold language learning.

Speaking and Writing Rubrics

Using ACCESS for ELLs to Promote Beneficial Outcomes for English Learners: Flyer and Video

These resources provide a breakdown of the role school/district-level educators, state-level administrators and WIDA play in using or developing ACCESS test scores, interpreting scores and making decisions based on scores to best serve English learners.

Flyer Details Video Details