WIDA Consortium

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

The WIDA Consortium is made up of 41 states, territories and federal agencies dedicated to the research, design and implementation of a high-quality, culturally and linguistically appropriate system to support multilingual learners in K-12 contexts. This comprehensive system, based on research and educator feedback, is built on standards, assessments and professional learning.

New to WIDA?
Check out this one page introduction to how WIDA English language development resources all fit together:
WIDA ELD Essentials

State-Specific Resources

All WIDA Consortium members have a customized member page that provides state-specific contacts as well as information related to implementation of standards and instruction, assessment and professional learning. ACCESS for ELLs Checklists and Identification and Placement Guidance documents can be found on these pages.You can navigate to your member/state page via the dropdown at the top of the page, or via the map below.

WIDA Consortium Members

*WIDA Alternate ACCESS user

Alaska

Hawaii

Northern Mariana Islands

U.S. Virgin Islands

Palau

Bureau of Indian Education

Department of Defense Education Activity

Participation

WIDA involves state and local educators in developing, designing and implementing this comprehensive system of supporting multilingual learners. Various opportunities include

Participating on the WIDA Advisory Board
Participating in committees
Assisting with field testing
Assisting with bias, sensitivity and content reviews
Piloting professional learning offerings

Influencing the Process

Educators share ideas on a wide range of topics with their state education agency representatives who serve on various committees to impact the decision-making process and consortium-wide policies. The process flows in the following way.

graphic showing educator input steps

Get Involved in Assessment Development

Every year, WIDA recruits educators with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to review ACCESS for ELLs and verify that content is grade-level appropriate, ensure items do not unfairly favor any group of test-takers and confirm that materials are error-free. Help us make this assessment the best it can be for you, your fellow-educators and -most importantly- your multilingual learners. Our ACCESS review sessions include:

Bias and Sensitivity Review - Ensure test items do not favor any group of students over another or have the potential to upset test-takers.
Content Review - Ensure each test item is factual and grade-level appropriate.
Forms Review - Review the entire test immediately before it is operational to do a final check for errors.
Field Testing - Let your students practice for the scored test and ensure new test items meet our high quality standards.

Learn more about these and other opportunities on the Building a WIDA Assessment page.

WIDA Consortium Annual Reports

These reports include testing statistics, student demographics, financial information, customer service tracking, professional learning usage, recent publications, as well as updates on projects, research and initiatives.

The Benefits of Participation for SEAs

"The state education agency and local school systems have benefited from being a WIDA consortium member in the following areas:
· Opportunities to influence consortium directives regarding policies and regulations pertaining to English learners
· Access to evidence-based professional learning offerings through WIDA facilitators and online resources
· Consistency in training, administering, scoring, and interpreting of English language proficiency assessment"

– Ilhye Yoon, Specialist, Maryland State Department of Education

"The benefit of having so much research at your fingertips and the ability to speak with a leading researcher about issues in our state is a huge advantage to being a member of the WIDA family. We love that all of our online training, training documents, videos, and power points are readily available, easy to access, and provided to members of the consortium, which really makes this process so much easier for us. There is unlimited expertise and assistance available to member states to help work through difficult issues."

– Susan Beard, Education Specialist, Alabama State Department of Education

"Illinois is fortunate to be deeply involved with the highly experienced educators of WIDA staff and member states. They keep the interests of English learners at the center of their work and help districts and teachers bolster their pathway to success. Applying the ELD standards is the essence of this partnership. WIDA’s products and expertise assist LEAs through genuine student-engaged, formative experiences alongside critical summative assessments. WIDA supplies our educators with training, tools and test results to better ensure students will reach their goals."

– Trevor Cottle, Principal Consultant, Illinois State Board of Education

meg lopez and colleague holding wida booklets in front of colorful hand cut-outs

"Being a SEA member of the WIDA Consortium has offered multiple benefits to Utah educators and students. WIDA facilitates meaningful collaboration with other states which has strengthened our own state policies. Our membership has allowed us to bring high quality professional learning opportunities and robust statewide assessments of language acquisition to all educators and EL students in Utah. Adopting WIDA's rigorous standards and assessments has enabled educators to create supportive learning environments and increased data-driven instruction for Utah’s EL student population. Thank you WIDA!"

– Megan Lopez, Education Specialist, Utah State Board of Education

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