WIDA Screener

An assessment to help identify English language learners

WIDA Screener is an English language proficiency assessment given to new students in grades K–12 to help educators identify whether they are English language learners (ELLs). It is a flexible, on-demand assessment that can be administered at any time during the school year. WIDA Screener is available in two formats – online (U.S. only) and paper (U.S. and International).

Key Features of WIDA Screener

• Aligns with the WIDA English Language Development Standards
• Assesses each of the four language domains: Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing
• Reports proficiency level scores for each language domain and for three composite scores: Oral Language, Literacy and Overall; score reports are produced at the individual student level only (not school, district or state)
• Screener Paper is scored locally by trained raters. Listening and Speaking domains are media-delivered. 
• The Screener Online test platform automatically scores the Listening and Reading domains during administration. A trained local rater scores the Speaking and Writing domains.
• Screener for Kindergarten is scored locally by the test administrator.

If a student is identified as an ELL, proficiency level scores from WIDA Screener can be used by educators to compare across ELLs and to plan differentiated levels of support for each child.