This study examines how 476 K–12 educators in 35 U.S. states identify and place English learners in language instruction educational programs. Findings reveal information about these educators, the instruments and information sources they use for decision making, and their perceived appropriateness of the decisions. Results provide practical implications for improving the English learner identification and placement decision at the district and school levels.
Resource DetailsThis report shares findings from the Standards Implementation Study (Sep 2022-Feb 2024). The report explores the current status of the implementation of the WIDA English Language Development Standards Framework, 2020 Edition across layers of the educational system, primarily through the perceptions of teachers, administrators, and policy makers. It identifies key educator and systems-level practices that support or hinder successful implementation; and identifies potentials and needs areas for additional resource development and continued research.
Published: May 2024
Author: Hannah Park
This research report provides a description of a study examining school districts in the WIDA Consortium whose English language learners (ELLs) exhibit consistently high growth on the ACCESS for ELLs (ACCESS) assessment.
Published August 2014
Authors: Narek Sahakyan, H. Gary Cook
This report examines English learners’ (EL) testing, proficiency and growth in the academic years of 2018–19, 2019–20 and 2020–21, using population-level data from ACCESS for ELLs Online, administered across the WIDA Consortium to students identified as ELs. The objective of the report is to shed light on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ELs’ educational outcomes.
October 2021
Authors: Narek Sahakyan, H. Gary Cook
This report examines English learner testing, proficiency, and growth in the years surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. This research builds on an October 2021 report on the impact of the pandemic, and includes data from the 2021-22 ACCESS for ELLs test administration. Findings indicate that in some grades and language domains EL's average proficiency and growth have returned to pre-pandemic levels. However, for most grades and language domains the evidence points to a continuing impact of COVID-19 on English learners’ English language development.
Published April 2023
Author: Narek Sahakyan, Glenn Poole
This report examines English learners’ testing, proficiency, and growth during the six most recent academic years (2018-2023) to shed light on the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on English learners’ educational outcomes. It provides descriptive evidence on disparities in outcomes within WIDA's English learner population, with substantial average differences in outcomes between English learners identified as Hispanic compared to non-Hispanic ELs. Findings show that these disparities are persistent and have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Published April 2024
Authors: Glenn Poole, Narek Sahakyan
Motivated by findings of a 2018 WIDA report pointing to large overlap between ELs with Individualized Education Program (IEP) designations and those ELs who could be identified as LTELs, this study further focuses on these dual-identified students. Grouping ELs by ever-IEP (i.e., being assigned an IEP at any point in the longitudinal record) and never-IEP status, we compare these two subgroups’ English language growth trajectories across time. Our findings show consistent trends of differential growth and reclassification rates for these two subgroups.
Published November 2021
Authors: Narek Sahakyan, Glenn Poole
The goal of the analyses presented here is to identify a procedure for creating alternate composite scores on English language proficiency assessments without using all four domain test scores (i.e., listening, speaking, reading and writing).
Published April 2013
Author: H. Gary Cook
This study examines oral language development of 14 dual language learners ages 2.5 to 5.5 years in preschools in the Midwestern United States. They engaged in five key language uses: argue, explain, heuristic, recount, and request. Preschoolers 2.5 to 3.5 years only made simple requests or argued to meet their needs; the older cohort demonstrated a wider range of key language uses.
Resource DetailsThis report examines how Alternate ACCESS for ELLs serves as a tool that identifies English proficiency attainment for English learners with significant cognitive disabilities.
Published December 2014
Author: H. Gary Cook
This report describes a study that examined to what extent scores on WIDA Screener predict scores on ACCESS for ELLs. Researchers found that Screener scores are strongly predictive of ACCESS scores, even when a variety of individual factors are accounted for.
Published February 2020
Authors: David MacGregor, Narek Sarakyan
This research report summarizes findings from a recent WIDA study exploring the potential long-term English learner (LTEL) population across 15 geographically-representative WIDA member states during the period 2009-10 through 2014-15. The findings highlight a continuing need for research that rejects an overly simplistic understanding of the LTEL designation. Additionally, future research should more carefully examine how educational systems, practices, and policies structure the experiences and diverse trajectories of students identified as LTELs.
Published October 2018
Authors: Narek Sarakyan and Sarah Ryan
This technical report aids WIDA Consortium members and stakeholders in producing imputed overall composite scale scores and proficiency levels for students who are missing scores in one or two domains due to a disability.
Published September 2020
Author: Narek Sahakyan
This report describes key components of high quality professional development for educators of English language learners.
Published May 2014
Author: Daniella Molle
This Focus Bulletin offers expert advice, data on 2020-21 identification rates, data templates, common scenarios and resources for school teams identifying K-12 multilingual learners for Specific Learning Disabilities.
Originally published May 2017/Updated November 2023
Author: Lynn Shafer Willner
This report describes how different student ability restrictions may affect item characteristics in the ACCESS multistage adaptive testing, and presents options for item administration in field testing.
Resource Details View Download NowThis study examined the ways in which educators across the WIDA Consortium use WIDA’s English language proficiency standards, and in particular the model performance indicators (MPIs).
Published May 2013
Author: Daniella Molle
This paper finds that many educators see the WIDA English language proficiency standards as a tool that can guide them in differentiating instruction and supporting language development among English language learners.
Resource DetailsBased on a U.S. Department of Education guide, these model analyses illustrate procedures a state could use to compare and contrast school-level overall and English learner accountability determinations for proficiency in reading/language arts. These examples are provided only to illustrate how a state could undertake them as part of its efforts to develop and explore a theory of action for assessment of recently arrived English learners.
Resource DetailsThis Focus Bulletin explores how interactive learning can benefit multilingual learners. Expressing and co-constructing ideas are discussed as two aspects of interactive learning that are important for the learning and wellbeing of multilingual youth.
Published December 2021
Authors: Jennifer Wilfrid, Daniella Molle