Illinois

Requirements and Resources

See below for state-specific information and resources related to ELL assessment, including your state’s ACCESS for ELLs Checklist, where you can find each step in the ACCESS testing process from beginning to end.

ACCESS for ELLs Online Checklist ACCESS for ELLs Paper ChecklistIdentification and Placement Guidance

State Testing Requirements

Information on screening and assessment of English learners (ELs) for English language proficiency can be found at ISBE's EL Enrollment page under Identification.

• Assess Kindergarten ELs with the ACCESS for ELLs for Kindergarten
• Assess Grades 1-12 ELs with the ACCESS for ELLs Online; limited paper administrations are permitted (see further down in this section).
• Screen Kindergarten and 1st semester of grade 1 ELs with the WIDA Screener for Kindergarten. WIDA Screener for Kindergarten materials are available to download in the WIDA Secure Portal. High quality materials for WIDA Screener for Kindergarten are available for purchase at the WIDA Store.
• Screen grade 1, 2nd semester and higher ELs with WIDA Screener. The online version is available at no cost via WIDA AMS. The paper version may be purchased at the WIDA Store. 
• For screening ELs at Pre-K, the Illinois School Code allows local flexibility regarding instruments. ISBE has a list of suggested vendors at the Multilingual Identification webpage in the Screener/English Language Proficiency Test accordion.

All English learners (ELs) are required to participate in the annual English language proficiency assessment using either the standard ACCESS for ELLs or the Alternate ACCESS (see the state guidance for eligibility requirements for Alternate ACCESS).  

Use ACCESS for ELLs Online for grades 1-12. ACCESS for ELLs Online allows for the Writing domain to be completed via handwriting if necessary. Paper administrations are allowed to comply with IEP provisions. Other administrations of ACCESS using the paper mode are permitted upon approval of a waiver by the Illinois State Board of Education. This waiver is similar to the one used for the Illinois Assessment of Readiness for circumstances of limited or unsuitable local technology. A waiver application may be submitted online via the ISBE website. An approved waiver for IAR or ACCESS applies to both tests. Waivers require annual renewal.

The ACCESS for ELLs Online Writing test is administered on paper for grades 1-3. As needed, students in grades 4-12 have the option of responding to the online Writing tasks via handwriting. ACCESS for ELLs for Kindergarten and the Alternate ACCESS are paper-only.

Online testing counts and paper materials orders are entered through the WIDA AMS website (see Order and Managed ACCESS Materials and Ad/Edit/ View Test Sessions).

Existing user accounts on WIDA AMS will carry over to the next school year. District Coordinators in WIDA AMS can create new user accounts for others in their district and schools. They may also assign/reassign permissions for user accounts or make them inactive. To add a district or school to WIDA AMS, contact Barry Pedersen (bpederse@isbe.net), Edwin Sanchez-Molina (esanchez@isbe.net) or 866-317-6034.

What is the procedure for the ACCESS/Alternate ACCESS administration when an EL transfers between schools within a district?

• If testing has not begun, add the student to the receiving school in WIDA AMS and place the student into sessions for each domain.  Nothing needs to be done for the unused sessions at the sending school.
• If one or more online domains were administered at the sending school, remove the student from untested sessions at the sending school.  The student’s online test record may then be transferred to the receiving school and added to test sessions.  Follow the instructions in the WIDA AMS User Guide for transferring students between schools.
• If one or more domains were administered in a paper test booklet, securely transport it to the receiving school to administer the remaining domains.  Allow the original Pre-ID label to remain uncovered and unaltered on the booklet.
• Update the ISBE Student Information System to reflect the change of enrollment.

What is the procedure for the ACCESS/Alternate ACCESS administration when an EL transfers from one district to another?

• ELs who transfer to your district prior to the beginning of your ACCESS testing window should participate in testing unless the student has already completed ACCESS testing in another state during the current school year.  Contact the materials vendor if you need additional materials. 
• For ELs who transfer to your district during your testing window, you are strongly encouraged to administer ACCESS/Alternate ACCESS, in order to establish/continue the student’s record of progress.  
  • If no domains were administered prior to the transfer, you may simply add a new record to WIDA AMS for online testing.
  • If one or more online domains were administered at the sending district, use the Student Transfer Form in WIDA AMS to move the record to the receiving district.
  • If one or more online domains were administered in the sending district using a paper test form, administer the untested domain(s) in a new test booklet.  Do not enter “Do Not Score” codes for domains administered in another district.
• ELs who transfer in during testing will not be included in Report Card Summative Indicators for your district, but they will be included with your district for the Statewide Assessment Participation Rate, with exceptions for the following circumstances:
  • For students who transfer in during the last ten calendar days of the testing window (for SY2025, this is February 19 - March 4), who you are not able to test, enter “Reason For Not Testing - 08” in ACCESS Corrections. 
    • For students who are not ELs when they transfer in but qualify for services during the last ten days of the testing window, they should be treated as ELs who transferred in during those ten days.
    • ELs undergoing an evaluation for IDEA services that will not be finished by the end of ACCESS testing should participate using the standard form. Testing may be postponed to complete an evaluation as long as the test administration will still be possible when it concludes.
  • For students who transfer out during the first ten calendar days of the testing window (for SY2025, this is January 15 – 28) before you are able to test them, enter “Reason For Not Testing - 07” in ACCESS Corrections.
• For ELs who transfer out of your district during your testing window, inform the receiving district (if possible) of domains that have already been administered, and assist the receiving district in transferring the online test record using the Student Transfer Form in WIDA AMS (district-to-district transfers only).  See the WIDA AMS User Guide for instructions.  If a student did not begin testing before transferring out, nothing needs to be done with the online record.  
  • Do not forward any paper test materials to another district.  Submit any partially completed test booklets for scoring.
  • Do not submit a blank test booklet for scoring.  For unused test booklets with affixed Pre-ID labels, apply a “Do Not Process” label (provided by the vendor) over the Pre-ID label.  A test booklet returned with a visible Pre-ID label will be scored even if it has marks or notations indicating that it should not be scored.
  • Do not enter “Do Not Score” codes for domains that were not administered. 

Important Notes Regarding Transfers:

• ELs who begin ACCESS testing on paper may not switch to online testing.
• In order to switch from the online format to paper, a student must have completed, at least, the Listening and Reading domains online.
• ELs who have taken only the Listening test online and are then switched to the paper format will have to retake the Listening domain in the paper form.

Test Preparation and Training

Training

Most test administrator (TA) training for ACCESS is done online. Training modules are in the WIDA Secure Portal, which requires a user account (see below).

Test Administrators (TA) must annually recertify their training for one-to-one ACCESS tests for which the TA uses the speaking or writing rubric to score responses.

• Kindergarten ACCESS
• Kindergarten Screener
• Alternate ACCESS
• ACCESS Paper mode for Speaking domain
• WIDA Screener Scoring for Speaking and Writing (Online and Paper)

Other ACCESS forms should recertify the training every three years.

• Online ACCESS
• Paper mode for listening, reading, and writing domains
• WIDA Screener Administration (Online and Paper)

Test administrators who do not participate in the ACCESS administration for a year (or more) should recertify their training before resuming.

Online Accounts

The WIDA Secure Portal contains the TA training courses (and other valuable preparation material) and records the training history of users. Accounts are created by a current account holder with the account coordinator role. WIDA Client Services (866-276-7735, help@wida.us) will also create user accounts for those who have an email address issued by their district. Additional roles or packages can be assigned by an account coordinator or by ISBE.

WIDA AMS is the website for conducting online testing and ordering paper materials. WIDA’s material vendor – Data Recognition Corporation (DRC, 855-787-9615, wida@datarecognitioncorp.com) – operates and supports this site. Accounts are created by an existing school or district coordinator for the district in WIDA AMS, or by ISBE.

ISBE recommends that every district have at least two district-level account holders for each of these websites to preserve access when one leaves the district or is unavailable.

Manuals, Guides, and Supplemental Materials

A considerable body of documents that support ACCESS testing are available in the Resources section of the WIDA Secure Portal. Resources include:

• Testing manuals and supplements
• Technology guides and documents
• Webinar calendar and recordings
• Informational Flyers
• WIDA AMS Guides and documents
• Trainer tools

A link to the Resources page appears in the main menu of the WIDA Secure Portal.

Materials Ordering and Online Test Setup

Online testing for ACCESS and WIDA Screener Online is set up and conducted using the WIDA AMS (WIDA Assessment Management System) website. WIDA AMS is operated and supported by Data Recognition Corporation (DRC). User accounts are required to log in. A guide to using WIDA AMS is found in WIDA AMS and in the WIDA Secure Portal as are technical documents for setting up the software. DRC Customer Service can be reached at 855-787-9615.

Paper test materials are also ordered in WIDA AMS. See State Testing Requirements for limitations and additional information.

ISBE will provide student records to DRC for ACCESS testing but not for screening. The district uploads student records for online screening.