Georgia
Member of the WIDA Consortium since 2005.
Assessments
Georgia uses the WIDA Screener for Kindergarten and WIDA Screener Online Grade 1-12 to identify English learners (ELs). The WIDA ACCESS and Alternate ACCESS assessments are administered to all identified ELs during the annual testing window, typically mid-January through early March.
Testing Dates
| 9/11/24 | WIDA Alternate ACCESS Reports and Data Files Available – Online in WIDA AMS |
|---|---|
| 9/25/24 | WIDA Alternate ACCESS Reports Available in District - Printed |
| 10/3/24 - 11/19/24 | Test Materials Ordering Available in WIDA AMS – LEAs |
| 10/3/24 - 11/19/24 | LEAs Load Pre-ID/Student Import File into WIDA AMS |
| 11/27/24 - 2/28/25 | WIDA AMS Test Setup Available for Registrations |
| 1/3/25 - 1/7/25 | Districts Receive Test Materials |
| 1/8/25 - 2/28/25 | Test Window |
| 1/3/25 - 2/21/25 | Additional Test Material Ordering Window in WIDA AMS |
| 3/5/25 | Deadline for Shipping Completed Test Materials to DRC - Postmark date |
| 3/27/25 - 4/9/25 | Pre-Reporting Data Validation – LEAs in WIDA AMS |
| 4/28/25 | Districts Receive Reports and Data - Posted in WIDA AMS |
| 5/9/25 - 5/13/25 | Printed Reports Received in Districts |
| 5/8/25 - 5/21/25 | Post-Reporting Data Validation – LEAs in WIDA AMS |
| 6/6/25 | Updated ACCESS Data Posted in WIDA AMS |
Requirements and Resources
See below for state-specific information and resources related to EL assessment, including your state’s ACCESS for ELLs Checklist, where you can find each step in the ACCESS testing process from beginning to end. For additional information, see the Georgia ACCESS for ELLs page.
ACCESS for ELLs Online Checklist ACCESS for ELLs Paper ChecklistIdentification and Placement Guidance Georgia State Specific Directions
Standards and Instructional Support
As each school system scales up implementation of the WIDA English Language Development (ELD) Standards Framework, 2020 Edition, several WIDA Self-Paced workshops are essential for building teachers’ and leaders’ knowledge, skills, and dispositions to provide standards-based language instruction for English learners. In addition, Georgia’s SuitCASE platform, the central repository for the digital version of the state’s academic content standards and WIDA’s language development standards, provides teachers with language-to-content standards’ associations that can be used to design language embedded content lessons. Teachers can also access these critical associations by clicking on specific grade-level content unit standards in the GaDOE Inspire platform. Teachers can then peruse a variety of resources, tools, curriculum maps, and lessons with supports for ELs.
Professional Learning
WIDA Self-Paced Workshops:
Starting September 1, 2024, all Georgia educators have access to twelve self-paced workshops that offer relevant, practical content to build capacity to teach English learners (ELs). See the description of each workshop in the WIDA Self-Paced Workshop flyer posted on the ESOL Language Program webpage. Workshop titles include:
- Developing Language for Learning in Mathematics
- Exploring the WIDA PreK-3 Essential Actions
- Engaging Multilingual Learners in Science: Making Sense of Phenomena
- Let’s Play! Multilingual Children’s Joyful Learning in PreK-3
- Making Language Visible in the Classroom
- Newcomers: Promoting Success through Strengthening Practice
- Reading Comprehension Across Content Areas with Multilingual Learners
- Reframing Education for Long-term English Learners
- Teaching Multilingual Learners Social Studies through Multiple Perspectives
- The WIDA ELD Standards Framework: A Collaborative Approach
- WIDA Español: Desarollando el español: las expectativas del lenguaje*
- WIDA Español: Evaluaciones del desarrollo del lenguaje a nivel de salón - Classroom assessment for language development*
*For dual language immersion settings in Georgia.
Additionally, the following micro-offering is available to K-12 educators interested in learning together in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs):
- Equity-Focused Professional Learning Communities: A Resource Guide and Study Guides
All WIDA professional learning opportunities are available in the WIDA Secure Portal eLearning webpage. To obtain a WIDA Secure Portal account, contact the System Testing Coordinator (STC) or ESOL Coordinator in your local school system.