Frequently Asked Questions

The phones in the WIDA Client Services Center (CSC) are ringing off the hook, so wanted to answer three of the most common questions that we’re getting this time of year. 

So sit back, grab some popcorn (easy on the butter!) and enjoy the answers to your most common questions. Next month we’ll take a look at a few more questions, and with a little bit of luck we’ll be able to answer some of your inquiries before they even come up for you.

Question One: What’s my username and password?

Answer One: Good question! The short answer is, we don’t know your password. Not quite what you were expecting, but it’s true. As a security precaution, we can’t see any passwords. So if you lost yours, not to worry, you can retrieve it. Simply click on the “Forgot Password” button and you can have your username and a link for you to reset your password emailed to you. If you don’t get it within a few minutes, check your Spam or Junk Mail. If it’s still not there, give us a call or drop us an email and we’ll be happy to help you find it.  

Question Two: How long does it take to complete the training course and quizzes?

Answer Two: Another good question! And….we don’t have the answer to that one either. Well, not a definitive answer at least. Since it really all depends on how fast you read, how long it takes you to review all of the materials really depends on you. We can estimate that it might take you somewhere between an hour to an hour and a half, but realistically it could be shorter or longer than that. The most important part is that you know and understand how to administer the assessment to your students.

Question Three: If a student doesn’t have a Pre-ID label, what information do I need to fill out on the back cover of the test booklet?

Answer Three: Finally, one that we know the answer to! Basically, you need to fill out all of the boxes that directly pertain to your student. So if they don’t have any accommodations, you wouldn’t need to fill in the accommodations box. All of the boxes are explained in detail on pages 20-27 of the Test Administration Manual (TAM).

Well, that’s all for now. Thanks for all the hard work that you do. If you have further questions (you know you do) feel free to send us an email or give us a call. We’re open from 8:00am-5:00pm Central Time, Monday-Friday. 866-276-7735 or help@wida.us

-Your Friendly CSC Team

Question mark image from Flickr via Creative Commons

New Resource to Understand Your Students’ Growth on ACCESS

  

 

There's something you might not know about me. I'm a data nerd. My heart skips a beat at the thought of pretty charts and bar graphs. So you can imagine my excitement when I heard that WIDA was putting together some new resources to help districts and schools look at systems-level patterns in their ACCESS for ELLs data. I was even more excited when they let me take a sneak peak at the materials earlier this fall. I couldn't wait until they were released so I could tell you about them. So, here it goes. Buckle your data seatbelts!

Welcoming Utah to WIDA!

 This summer has been a time of growth at WIDA. Most recently, Utah joined the Consortium. Some time ago Utah adopted the WIDA ELD Standards for use in their classrooms. But now Utah is an official consortium member. That means that this school year, Utah educators will be giving the ACCESS for ELLs assessment for the first time. 

Earlier this month I suggested a few blog posts for new consortium members. Click here to check those out.  

If you are interested in knowing more about the 33 members of the WIDA Consoritum, check out this page.




Written by: Tammy King

Image: Freedigitalphotos.net

Welcome Michigan and South Carolina!

  

Last month the WIDA Consortium welcomed two new states.
 
Michigan became the 32^nd member of the Consortium. This means that Michigan educators will begin administering the ACCESS for ELLs assessment during the 2013-14 school year. You might remember that Michigan adopted the WIDA ELD Standards in January 2013.  Since most of us haven't returned to school yet, it's a great time to read up on the ACCESS for ELLs assessment. Here are a few blog posts to get you started:

Incorporating Blog Posts into Professional Development

A number of years ago I was in charge of a rather large ESL and bilingual program. I often struggled with ways to share effective practices, tips, and ideas with my teachers across our various buildings. They were busy people and I knew I couldn't add more to their plate. I am mentioning this to you because I was reminded of this dilemma recently. I was speaking with a group of educators, and one of them asked me some questions. Rather than bend her ear for several minutes, I referred her to some blog posts on that very topic. Soon a number of others asked for the links. They realized the potential of sharing these short blog posts with their colleagues. The conversation turned a bit and we found ourselves discussing the merits of regularly sharing relatively small amounts of text with our colleagues via blog posts, short articles, etc.

Computerized English Language Proficiency Assessments around the Corner

  

Summertime is my time to slow down, breath and catch up on some of my reading and personal professional development. To that end, I sat in on two webinars at the end of June. I have already told you about the first webinar here.  Today I would like to share with you an overview of the second webinar and what it means to those of us in the WIDA Consortium. It was called Next-Generation English Language Proficiency Assessments. It was produced by the Alliance for Excellence in Education, and it's archived here. 
 
The webinar featured a panel of speakers, including Timothy Boals, WIDA's Executive Director; Gary Cook, WIDA's Research Director; Robert Linquanti, Project Director for English Learner Evaluation and Accountability Support from WestEd and Kathleen Vanderwall, Manager, Test Design and Administration at the Oregon State Department of Education. The webinar focused on the need for, and creation of, a new generation of English language proficiency assessments at the national level. Since the majority of you are working in WIDA Consortium states, I will focus on the next generation of the ACCESS for ELLs assessment. 

Top Posts from the First 18 Months

It is hard to believe but 18 months ago today, I made my first post on the WIDA blog. Since then, more and more people have discovered the WIDA blog. As of today, over 72,000 people have visited this site. But there are many educators who are still unaware that this blog exists. So to celebrate, take a look at the top 10 posts so far. Reread some of your favorites. Check out a new post. Then, share a link with your colleagues. 

LADDER: Using Data to Impact Instruction

I admit it; I am a bit of a nerd when it comes to numbers and graphs.  So the first time I heard the term “data literacy” my ears perked up.  I thought to myself, “I would love to become data literate!” As a teacher I struggled with ways to assess my students fairly.  I wanted to give them the opportunity to show me what they knew in ways that were appropriate for their level of English proficiency.  Now as a teacher trainer I am often asked about best practices in assessing ELLs.  I have witnessed a growing desire among educators to find ways to effectively use their student data.  As educators we need to continually ask ourselves:

• What does this assessment measure?
• What am I going to do with the information I receive from it? 

When I mention these two key questions in a workshop, educators often confess that they don’t quite know what to do with their ACCESS for ELLs data. They know that it assesses English language proficiency across the five ELD standards.  They also know what their state education agency has determined as entry and exit scores based on ACCESS. Some educators are even aware of the various scores available (for more on score reports, click here).   At the district level, teachers realize that programmatic decisions are often made using student data.  But how can we effectively use ACCESS for ELLs data to inform our instructional practices?

It’s Our First Blog Birthday!

It’s hard to believe that it has been one year since we launched this blog!  Thanks to you, it has been a resounding success.  Over 38,000 people have visited the WIDA blog since November 7, 2011.  Just last month, we had over 8,000 page views. 

 Join us as we celebrate!  

Using the ACCESS for ELLs Score Reports

Last week an administrator told me that he was surprised to learn that there were several different types of score reports available for the ACCESS for ELLs assessment.  He only knew about the data that was uploaded annually to his district’s online data management system.  Reflecting on that conversation led me to today’s post. 

Understanding Proficiency Levels Using an Ice Cream Cone Analogy

 

I suspect that proficiency levels are the “most talked about” of the scores provided by the ACCESS for ELLs score reports.  However, many of us have a hard time explaining the levels to people outside our field.  In today’s post, I will share with you my favorite analogy – the ice cream cone.  

During workshops, I have been known to actually draw this image free hand.  It isn’t very pretty! The “homemade” image of the ice cream cone diagram below is much nicer.  

Welcome, Colorado and Nevada!

Have you heard the news?  On October 1, 2012, Colorado became the 30^th member of the WIDA Consortium.  On October 11^th, Nevada joined and became the 31^st member. 

Both states previously adopted the WIDA ELD Standards  for use in their schools.  Now that they are official Consortium members, Colorado and Nevada educators are preparing to administer the ACCESS for ELLs assessment.  

Here are a few blog posts that you might find useful if you are preparing to give the ACCESS for ELLs for the first time this year:

Tips for Using the CAN DO Name Charts

Looking for a way to organize and share your students’ English language proficiency data?  For years I have suggested to my workshop participants that they use the CAN DO Descriptors to contextualize their students’ ACCESS for ELLs® data.  That is, I have suggested that they write their students’ names or initials on the appropriate grade level cluster CAN DO charts.  But now we have an even better option! 

Welcome, Northern Mariana Islands!

Earlier this week, WIDA welcomed its 29^th Consortium member, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.  Similar to Massachusetts, which joined in June, the Northern Mariana Islands educators will be using the WIDA ELD Standards and will be administering the ACCESS for ELLs assessment.   

The Northern Mariana Islands are a chain of islands west of Hawaii and north of Australia.  Their public school system consists of twelve elementary schools, four junior high schools and five high schools.  During the 2011-2012 school year, a total of 11,011 students were enrolled in these schools.  Chamorro, English, Chinese and Philippine languages are commonly spoken among the residents of these beautiful islands.   

Where Do Those ACCESS for ELLs Tests Go?

Have you ever wondered what happens to the ACCESS for ELLs boxes that you carefully pack up and ship back each year?  How do they score them?  Does some machine have to turn each page in those booklets?  If a picture is worth a thousand words, then you will love this!

Welcome, Massachusetts!

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Earlier this month, Massachusetts announced that it had joined the WIDA Consortium.  This means that beginning in 2012-2013, Massachusetts educators will use the WIDA ELD Standards and administer the ACCESS for ELLs assessment.  For those of you keeping count, that brings the total to 28 states.  Here is the full map.  

Here is a snippet of what Mitchell D. Chester, Ed.D. the Massachusetts Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education had to say about the WIDA Consortium. 

Our Top Six Posts So Far

 Readers,

Thank you for making this blog such a success!  Today, May 7, 2012 is our six month anniversary.  So far we have had over 8,900 people come to the blog and read a post.  In order to celebrate, let me share the top six blog posts:

What’s new with ACCESS for ELLS this year? - Over 1,100 pageviews

Transformations – Part 1 - Over 600 pageviews

Decisions, decisions…about tier placement - Over 400 pageviews

Me Washa la Mano - Over 400 pageviews

Tips for Reaching Out to Parents of ELLs  - Over 300 pageviews

I’ve got a question about ACCESS for ELLs… - Almost 300 pageviews



Written by: Tammy King

Image: Rawich / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

Help Desk Helpers - Part Two

Ever wondered who is on the other end of the line when you contact the WIDA Help Desk?  In last week's post, you met Michelle.  This week, meet the rest of the WIDA Help Desk staff. You'll  learn about some of the common questions that the Help Desk receives and the WIDA states they would most like to visit.  Enjoy!

Introducing the Help Desk Staff

Hi, dear readers! Thanks for stopping by the WIDA Blog. I’m Michelle and what’s on tap for this and some future blog entries is an introduction to the Help Desk at WIDA. The Help Desk addresses your concerns and questions, provides you with log in information, and talks you through testing procedures. If you’ve never contacted us, you’re missing out—we’re awesome!  A common misconception we hear is that we’re housed in a giant corporate office full of cubicles with dozens of people (picture the AT&T call center), but we’re really just six people who

Using Rubrics and Checklists for Language Proficiency Assessments

Teachers often tell me that one of the trickiest aspects of designing classroom-based assessments is to identify what we want to assess and then how to document it. 

Recently I blogged about common assessments and ELLs.  In that post, I mentioned that there are two main types of assessments for ELLs –assessments that measure academic content knowledge and assessments that document language proficiency.  So as we design our assessments we need to ask ourselves “Am I assessing my students’ knowledge of the content or their ability to speak/read/write about this topic?”  

Most school districts have multiple assessments for academic content knowledge.  Typically there is a district assessment plan or schedule that details when and how often to give various content assessments.  End of the unit assessments, quarterly or semester assessments and yearly assessments of content knowledge are set. 

But what about assessing our students’ language proficiency?