Welcome, Tennessee!

Last week Tennessee adopted the WIDA ELD Standards for use in their schools. We are excited to introduce the WIDA ELD Standards to Tennessee educators! 
 

There are currently three states that use the standards but not the ACCESS for ELLs test. Those states are Tennessee, Idaho and South Carolina.


If you are in Tennessee or are new to the standards, here are a few blog posts to get you started:

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:

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. 

CoCoMo Lessons Learned and Information Shared One Year Later

 

Today's blog is a follow-up to an earlier post where Paula Merchant described her experiences participating in the Common Core and More Institute. Today Paula shares some of the lessons that she and her team have learned one year later.

 

One Year Later

Standards Integration for ELLs: An Insider’s View

It is my pleasure to introduce you to Paula Merchant from the Massachusetts Association of Teachers of Speakers of Other Languages (MATSOL).  In the summer of 2012, Paula attended the inaugural institute on standards integration for ELLs called CoCoMo.  Today she has kindly offered to share her thoughts on the training. Take it away, Paula!  

What is WISACALD?

The first time I heard the name WISACALD, I couldn’t help but smile.  I thought to myself, “What’s a WISACALD?” Reading my mind, Amy Christianson explained.  Amy is the OELA Grant Program Coordinator and my go-to person for questions about WISACALD.  I must say, I was immediately impressed by this innovative approach to reaching out and connecting educators of ELLs.  For those of you in Wisconsin, what a treat you have! For those of you outside Wisconsin, WISACALD might spark an idea for your state or region. 

So back to the question…what’s WISACALD?  And the answer is…

Michigan Adopts the ELD Standards

In mid-January 2013, the state of Michigan officially adopted the ELD Standards for use in their schools.  Like Utah and Idaho, Michigan will not be participating in other consortium activities.  But their teachers will be able to benefit by using the ELD standards in their lessons.  Speaking of lessons, be sure to check out the new lesson plan share space.  For those of us who have been in the consortium for years and are skilled at infusing the ELD standards into our lessons, this website will be a wonderful place to showcase our work.  For those new to teaching ELLs or new to the consortium, the lesson sharing site will be a wonderful resource.  If you upload a lesson between now and March 1, 2013, you will automatically be entered into a drawing for Amazon gift cards.  For more information on the contest, click here.

Written by: Tammy King

Image: www.wida.us

 

 

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:

What’s New in the 2012 Amplification of the ELD Standards?

In my last post, I pointed out the elements of the 2012 Amplification that are remaining the same.  If you haven’t done so already, check out that post and label the pages I mentioned.  It will make it easier to find what I am mentioning in this post.  Speaking of which, let’s take a look at some of what has changed or been made explicit in the 2012 amplification of the ELD Standards.  

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. 

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!

Spanish teachers – check out the new Continuos del Desarrollo Lingüístico (SLD Standards)

Two years of hard work are paying off and everyone (consortium and non-consortium members) will be able to reap the benefits soon.   

So what is SALSA? It is a collaborative project between the Illinois State Board of Education, WIDA and the Center for Applied Linguistics.   It stands for Spanish Academic Language Standards and Assessment.  As the name implies, there are two parts to the project.  The first part has

Become a Certified WIDA trainer

 2011 Certification Institute Participants and WIDA Staff

It’s hard to believe that it has been almost two years since I became a certified trainer for WIDA.  (Though, my family would be happy to tell you that I am also certifiable nuts!)  For me, the journey

Tips for Scheduling the ACCESS

 Image: koratmember / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Preparing to administer the ACCESS for ELLs can be a time-consuming process for test administrators and district level test coordinators alike.  Recently I had the chance to interview Rosemarie Meyer, Assistant Superintendent for Bilingual/ESL Programs in Community Consolidated School District 21 in Wheeling, Illinois.  Just over 37% of CCSD 21 students are English language learners.  She shared some tips that have helped

Wanted: Local ELL-related blogs

Does your state have a blog that WIDA should know about? 

Maybe it is a blog run by a teacher (ESL, bilingual or mainstream), a district administrator or someone at your state department of education. 

If it deals with ELLs, let me know about it by posting a link to the blog in a comment below.  Thanks!


Written by: Tammy King