Resources/Recursos

ACCESS for ELLs Online technical reports provide evidence for validity and reliability of ACCESS for ELLs Online and support intended uses, interpretations, and decision made with the test. This is the redacted report for the 2021-2022 administration of ACCESS for ELLs Online without item information.

ACCESS for ELLs Paper technical reports provide evidence for validity and reliability of ACCESS for ELLs Paper and support intended uses, interpretations, and decision made with the test. This is the redacted report for the 2021-2022 administration of ACCESS for ELLs Paper without item information.

Alternate ACCESS for ELLs technical reports provide evidence for validity and reliability of Alternate ACCESS for ELLs and support intended uses, interpretations and decisions made with the test.

This is the redacted report for the 2021-2022 administration of Alternate ACCESS for ELLs. Item information is removed from the report.

This study investigated a coaching process in which state educational representatives (SEAs) and WIDA staff engaged during 2012. The purpose was to enhance the quality of the professional development offered by states to their educators.

Published May 2013 
Authors: Daniella Molle, Christie Reveles

This research brief reports preliminary results from a study of teachers’ successful experiences engaging ELLs in collaborative learning with peers.

Published May 2014

This research project explored the patterns of district-level ELL “growth” for the 2007-2011 time period and identified the existence of “high-flying” and “low-cruising” districts within ACCESS for ELLs in terms of ELL growth.

Published May 2013
Author: Narek Sahakyan

Regardless of the growth model, aggregate test-score-based models of student growth require large and longitudinally connected samples of student data. When sample sizes are small it becomes impossible to reliably estimate and disentangle district, school and teacher effects from student growth data.

Published June 2015 
Author: Narek Sahakyan

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

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 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 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 study examined how English learners in Grades 1-12, with and without disabilities, used online accessibility features during an ELP assessment. These accessibility features are designed to provide the necessary support for the general EL population, including ELs with disabilities.

Published March 2019 
Authors: Ahyoung Alicia Kim, Meltem Yumsek, Mark Chapman, H. Gary Cook

The analysis in this report illustrates models and procedures that can be used to assign a missing domain score in order to calculate an overall composite score. These methods only apply to assessments taken by English learners whose IEPs or 504 plans require they not be tested in one or more domains.