News Archive
11-24-09
WIDA is now hiring a Correlation/Alignment Manager!
The successful applicant must have at least a Masters degree and experience with content analysis and/or alignment studies at the school, district, or state level. This individual must also have experience managing short term projects with multiple stakeholders. Research, presentation, and alignment study design experience is preferred.
Visit the University job site to review the complete list of requirements and principal duties. Interested applicants should submit a detailed resume and a cover letter describing how their experience and qualifications align with the position duties and responsibilities to: wcerbusofc@education.wisc.edu. PVL 63318 should be listed in the subject line. The deadline for consideration is December 15, 2009.
10-28-09
2010 Item Writing Course
WIDA is now accepting online applications for the 2010 Item Writing course. Please review the information page and submit your application by October 30!
8-27-09
Free webinar related to ACCESS for ELLs®
A free webinar to be held Sept. 16 will outline and discuss the results of a study showing that students' performance in reading and writing on WIDA's ACCESS for ELLs® assessment accurately predicts their performance in reading, writing, and mathematics on the state academic assessment. More information on the webinar is available on the Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands' website.
8-26-09
WIDA is now hiring a Professional Development Specialist!
The successful applicant will have K-12 teaching experience, an ESL and/or Bilingual Education license or endorsement, experience with large-scale assessment, and experience developing and delivering teacher training on topics pertaining to English language learners.
Visit the University job site to review the complete list of requirements and principal duties. Interested applicants should submit a detailed resume and a cover letter describing how their experience and qualifications align with the position duties and responsibilities to: wcerbusofc@education.wisc.edu. PVL 62626 should be listed in the subject line. The deadline for consideration is September 18, 2009.
8-7-09
WIDA is now hiring a Research Analyst!
Some principal duties:
- Participate in research and writing around topics of interest to the WIDA Consortium as specified by WIDA's Research Director.
- Collaborate with WIDA Consortium staff, relevant state and district partners, and external researchers to develop reports, documents, and supporting research materials.
- Support qualitative and quantitative research design including statistical modeling and the development of qualitative data collection tools, e.g., interviews, observation protocols, surveys, questionnaires, etc.
- Construct data files and conduct descriptive and inferential statistical analyses as assigned.
Visit the University job site to review the complete list of requirements and principal duties. Interested applicants should submit a detailed resume and a cover letter describing how their experience and qualifications align with the position duties and responsibilities to: wcerbusofc@education.wisc.edu. PVL 62543 should be listed in the subject line. The deadline for consideration is September 3, 2009.
7-21-09
WIDA Move
The WIDA Office is moving (across the street) on Wed., July 22. There may be a temporary interruption to Help Desk phone service during the move. If you are unable to reach us via phone, please e-mail us at help@wida.us and we will respond to your message in a timely manner. Thank you for understanding!
7-20-09
Notice about the WIDA Online Store
The WIDA online store will be down for maintenance from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (CDT) on Wed., July 29. If you need to place an order and pay by credit card or check, please plan accordingly. Purchase orders may still be processed via fax on this day. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please direct any questions to the WIDA Help Desk at 1-866-276-7735.
6-8-09
Alternate ACCESS for ELLs™ Item Development Workshop
WIDA will hold an Alternate ACCESS for ELLs Item Development Workshop August 10-11 in Madison, WI. Registration is now open for those who have experience working with students who are ELLs AND have significant cognitive disabilities. Please see the workshop announcement for more information.
5-1-09
Kindergarten ACCESS for ELLs® Survey
If you administered the new format of the Kindergarten ACCESS for ELLs® this year, we are interested in your feedback! Click here to take the survey. The survey will be available until June 12.
4-23-09
2009 Interpretive Guide for Score Reports Now Available
A PDF file of this report can be downloaded from the ACCESS for ELLs® page of this site.
New to the Interpretive Guide for 2009: an explanation of the two types of proficiency level scores for Kindergarten.
4-6-09
Register now for the Summer Academies
Registration is now open for the three professional development summer academies! To learn more about topics, objectives, dates, cost, hotel accommodations, and more, please visit the Summer Academies page.
4-3-09
WIDA is NOW HIRING!
Outreach Specialist
University of Wisconsin-Madison
The successful applicant will collaborate with the WIDA Professional Development Program Manager, consultants, district facilitators and state testing coordinators in planning and implementing local training sessions for educators, utilizing data from program evaluation studies. Experience working with adult, professional development user groups on new techniques and practices through meetings, workshops, conferences, the development of training materials, and other means. Proficiency with web-based technologies is required.
Visit the
University job site to review the complete list of requirements and principal duties. Interested applicants should submit a detailed resume and a cover letter describing how their experience and qualifications align with the position duties and responsibilities to:
wcerbusofc@education.wisc.edu. PVL 61501 should be listed in the subject box. The deadline for consideration is April 15, 2009.
For more information about WCER, visit our website at
http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/.
3-25-09
Summer Professional Development Academies Update
The 2009 Summer Academies planning is underway and WIDA would like to share information on the dates, locations, and topics to be covered. To learn more, please visit the Summer Academies page. Registration will open April 6, so please watch for that announcement and plan to register early to receive a discounted rate!
3-12-09
Online Store Down for Technical Updates
Please note: the WIDA online store will not be available temporarily today. If you need to place an order, please wait until after 12:30 pm CST or contact the WIDA Help Desk at help@wida.us. We apologize for any inconvenience.
3-9-09
Alternate ACCESS for ELLs™ Event in Madison, WI, April 2-3
WIDA will be hosting an event April 2-3 to discuss and develop items for the new Alternate ACCESS for ELLs™ assessment. This workshop is limited to 28 participants, but WIDA hopes to offer a larger workshop on this topic during the summer months. RSVPs are required by Thursday, March 12. Please see the Alternate ACCESS for ELLs™ workshop flyer to learn more.
3-6-09
Meet WIDA at TESOL's 2009 Convention in Denver, CO!
WIDA will have a booth in the exhibit hall showcasing our products and services, including the WIDA MODEL™ for Kindergarten assessment. WIDA ELP Standards and ELL CAN DO Booklets will also be for sale at the booth. You may now download and print the list of presentations related to WIDA scheduled to take place at TESOL.
2-24-09
Professional Development Survey now closed
The Summer Professional Development Interest Survey is now closed. We are taking the results into consideration for planning and will have information about the Summer 2009 Academies on the WIDA website by mid-March. Many thanks to those who gave their feedback!
2-9-09
Online store temporarily unavailable
Our apologies, but the WIDA online store is experiencing technical difficulties at this time. It should be working again very soon, but if you would like to place an order immediately, you may do so by contacting WIDA Help at 1-866-276-7735.
1-30-09
Kindergarten training video temporarily unavailable
The Kindergarten video in the website training course will be unavailable due to site maintenance today. We apologize for any inconvenience.
1-26-09
Virginia Department of Education ELP Standards Videos
The Virginia Department of Education has generously offered to share a series of videos created by teachers, for teachers, to promote understanding of the WIDA ELP Standards and offer example lesson plans based on certain language functions.
You may view the videos and download lesson materials from the Virginia Department of Education website. A permanent link is available at the bottom of the ELP Standards page.
WIDA encourages and appreciates the willingness of our member states to share any such local efforts in order to maximize the number of educators benefitting from your work. If your state or district has unique or outstanding projects underway that can be shared with the consortium, please contact WIDA Outreach Specialist Andrea Cammilleri.
1-14-09
WIDA Summer Academy Interest Survey
WIDA is planning to offer Professional Development Academies this summer. To assist with the planning of potential academies, we would appreciate your completion and dissemination of our brief WIDA Summer Academy 2009 Interest Survey. Last year, the survey results were a strong deciding factor on what type of academies to offer and when they occurred.
The survey should take less than 5 minutes. Feel free to place a link to the survey on your website or in newsletters.
Link to survey: Inactive link removed.
If you are interested in viewing information from the Academies offered last summer (2008), please visit the Summer Academies page.
Thank you for your support with this initiative!
12-29-08
Meet WIDA at the Illinois Statewide Conference
If you will be in attendance, please plan to visit the WIDA exhibit at the Illinois Resource Center's Statewide Conference for Teachers Serving Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Students in Oak Brook, IL, January 6-9, 2009. WIDA staff will also be presenting on the topics of academic language, CAN DO Descriptors, and Kindergarten placement testing. Hope to see you there!
11-24-08
Recorded Kindergarten Webinar Training
A recording of the Kindergarten ACCESS for ELLs® webinar is now available for viewing on this website. Please visit the Kindergarten Webinars page for instructions on how to view it. Remember, those who view the webinars must still take the online course in ordered to be certified to administer the Kindergarten test.
11-10-08
Kindergarten Webinar Training Sessions FULL
The Kindergarten ACCESS for ELLs® webinars are all full. We apologize for the inconvenience. You may view a recording of the webinar on this website after the trainings are complete. Remember, participants in the webinars must still take the online course in ordered to be certified to administer the Kindergarten test.
11-7-08
ELP Standards books have arrived at WIDA!
The WIDA ELP Standards books are no longer on backorder! Books will be shipped out beginning with the first orders that were placed in August, proceeding to the most recent orders from the month of November. Thank you for your patience throughout this period!
11-3-08
Kindergarten ACCESS for ELLs® Webinar Trainings
Consortium member districts may now register for upcoming Kindergarten ACCESS for ELLs® webinar trainings to be held on Nov. 11, 14 and 19. To learn more, visit the Kindergarten Webinars page.
10-23-08
2009 Item Writing Course
WIDA is now accepting online applications for the 2009 Item Writing course. Please review the information page and submit your application by December 1!
WIDA is on a roll!
See the "Learning the Language" blog on the Education Week website to find out why.
10-20-08
2 weeks left to place a WIDA ELP Standards book order at the introductory rate!
Please place an order today to receive the $10 consortium/ $15 non-consortium price. Effective Nov. 1, the prices will go up to $15 for consortium members and $20 for non-members. To place an order, please visit our online store.
10-17-08
Grades 1-12 ACCESS TA Manual posted
The ACCESS for ELLs® Test Administration Manual for grades 1-12 (2008-09) has been posted in our online training course. Please login to view and/or print the TA Manual.
10-15-08
Formative Assessment Grant Awarded to WIDA
The WIDA Consortium is pleased to announce that it has received a three-year grant with generous support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York to develop and validate a formative assessment system for teachers serving English language learners (ELLs) at the secondary level. These classroom assessments will function as an integral component of WIDA's overall system of standards and assessments for ELLs and will be aligned to the nationally recognized WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards™ and the ACT College Readiness Standards. Initial development work is slated to begin late fall 2008.
The project, under the direction of WIDA Research Director H. Gary Cook, is designed to assist teachers in measuring student progress in developing the essential language needed for success in academic classes. Quality, ongoing feedback from these assessments will help teachers and students target learning objectives and thus more effectively prepare students to accelerate learning toward the goal of language proficiency and post-secondary academic success. Lorraine Valdez Pierce, a nationally-recognized scholar on ELL formative assessment, will be involved with the project along with the Center for Applied Linguistics.
Piloting and field testing of these assessments will take place in urban school districts in keeping with the Carnegie Corporation's priorities for assistance by building the K-16 pipeline, strengthening accountability, and strengthening human capital*, specifically as they relate to ELLs' pathway to college. The goal of the project is to have an integrated, secondary formative assessment system aligned with WIDA and college readiness standards operationally available by 2011.
10-6-08
Order form for WIDA MODEL™ for Kindergarten placement test now available
You may place your order for the new box kit assessment by downloading, printing, and faxing in the official order form today. Shipment of the box kits is expected to begin next week.
9-30-08
Kindergarten training video and course module now available!
The Kindergarten Module of the online training course has been updated and is now ready for 2008-09 test administration training. You may also view the entire Kindergarten training video by logging in to the ACCESS for ELLs® online training course.
9-24-08
EAG funds awarded to WIDA to develop English language proficiency assessment for students with severe disabilities
WIDA is pleased to announce that the Alternate ACCESS for ELLs™ assessment project has received $1 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Education's Enhanced Assessment Grant competition. To learn more about the project, read the latest "Learning the Language" blog from Mary Ann Zehr of Education Week. Also, please visit the Alternate ACCESS page of our website.
9-12-08
Register now for the CLIMBS® Instructor Institute!
Visit the Professional Development section of our website to learn more about the CLIMBS® course and this training institute to be held October 21-23 in Washington, D.C.
9-2-08
WIDA welcomes our 19th state, Mississippi!
We look forward to assisting Mississippi's educators and further extending our mission of promoting educational equity for English language learners!
8-18-08
WIDA ELP Standards Booklets on backorder
Due to the overwhelming demand in recent weeks, we have exhausted our supply of ELP Standards & Resource Guide books. Any orders placed in late August or September will be subject to backorder delays. Please contact help@wida.us to inquire about the status of your order. We apologize for any inconvenience.
8-15-08
Tech Report Released
The ACCESS for ELLs® Annual Technical Report No. 3, Series 102, 2006-2007 Administration is now available. Report No. 4 (2007-08 Administration) will be available later this winter. These documents address the validity and reliability of the ACCESS test to accurately assign students their proficiency level scores.
8-12-08
Price Change for WIDA ELP Standards
The ELP Standards booklets have been available at an introductory rate of $10 for consortium members and $15 for non-members. However, this price will be increasing effective Nov. 1, 2008. We are also experiencing low remaining volume and any orders placed in late August or September may be subject to backorder delays. Please contact help@wida.us to inquire about the status of your order. We apologize for any inconvenience.
7-3-08
Special Announcement
The ACCESS for ELLs® Test Administrator Training course is now located on this website, www.wida.us. Even if you had an account in the UW Oshkosh Desire2Learn system for this purpose, you must reenroll in this new course. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please visit your state's page in the green menu at the lower left of this page to learn about enrollment procedures in your state. If you have already received an enrollment email, you may login by clicking the Login button in the upper right hand corner of this page.
6-10-08
WIDA welcomes our 18th state, North Carolina!
We look forward to assisting North Carolina's educators and further extending our mission of promoting educational equity for English language learners! Please see an article about N.C.'s decision to join on the Education Week website.
5-1-08
Planned D2L System Outage
The UW-Oshkosh D2L system including our online ACCESS for ELLs® training course will be shut down for necessary upgrades from Thursday, May 22 at 3:00pm until Tuesday, May 27 at 7:00am. Please plan your training accordingly. Thank you for your cooperation.
4-30-08
2008 Interpretive Guide for Score Reports Now Available
A PDF file of this report can be downloaded from the ACCESS for ELLs® page of this site.
4-17-08
2008 Interpretive Guide for Score Reports
The 2008 version of the ACCESS for ELLs® Interpretive Guide for Score Reports will be posted on April 30, 2008. Thank you for your patience as we finalize this document.
4-10-08
Position opening: WIDA Professional Development Trainer/Specialist
WIDA is housed at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research within the University of Wisconsin-Madison. For details on how to apply, please see our listing on the UW-Madison job site.
4-9-08
New Kindergarten brochure available: New Assessments
Please visit the ACCESS for ELLs® section of our website to download a new brochure highlighting the features of our new Kindergarten ACCESS and W-APT™ tests. These tests will be released in the next academic year (2008-09).
4-8-08
New Recommended Literature
Please visit the PD Resources page to read a new write-up under Recommended Literature about the Pieces of Peace Curriculum. This curriculum is aligned to the academic content standards of our newest member state, South Dakota, and is an excellent resource for diverse classrooms.
4-1-08
Professional Development Summer Academies
WIDA is pleased to announce that it will be hosting two summer academies for teachers and trainers of teachers of ELLs. We hope to adapt our professional development opportunities every summer to meet the needs of the consortium. Based on the results of a survey of members of the consortium this spring, we are offering two academies (workshops) this summer: Providing Access to Academic Achievement through Language Development and Collaborating to Meet the Needs of English Language Learners (ELLs). The academies will take place June 30-July 3 and July 14-18, 2008 in Madison, WI. Please visit the WIDA Summer Academies main page to learn more!
3-19-08
Purchase your Standards books online!
The WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards and Resource Guide, 2007 Edition are now available online and in print. The price for the print edition is currently $15 with a $5 discount for teachers and administrators who work for schools in our Consortium member states. To place an order (payable by check, purchase order or credit card), please visit our online store. Purchase orders can be faxed to 608-263-3733 or emailed to help@wida.us.
3-18-08
WIDA welcomes our 17th state, South Dakota!
Please see the article in Education Week to learn more. We look forward to assisting South Dakota's educators and further extending our mission of promoting educational equity for English language learners!
3-17-08
D2L Course Outage
The ACCESS online training course (D2L) will be down for maintenance from 5 am - 5 pm Central this Saturday, March 22. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
2-5-08
ELP Standards and Resource Guide, 2007 Edition available in print
The print edition of WIDA ELP Standards and Resource Guide, 2007 Edition has arrived in our office. To place an order, please contact help@wida.us with your name, shipping address, phone number, and desired quantity of booklets. The price is currently $15 per copy with a $5 discount for teachers and administrators who work for schools in our Consortium member states.
12-14-07
Resource Guide now available online
Understanding the WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards: A Resource Guide is now available online! The print edition of this guidebook accompanied by the WIDA ELP Standards will be available very soon.
12-10-07
D2L Course Outage
Please be aware that the D2L system which hosts our ACCESS test administrator training course will be unavailable from Wed., Jan 9 at 10:00pm until Thurs., Jan 10 at 12:00pm Central Standard Time. It will be undergoing a necessary upgrade. Please plan your ACCESS training sessions accordingly. Thank you for understanding.
12-5-07
W-APT™ Data
CAL is currently seeking W-APT data for analysis to complete the technical report that was requested during the June board meeting. Please consider sharing any state or district level W-APT™ data you may have. For more information about this project, please contact Willow Ryu at willow@cal.org.
12-4-07
Innovative Practice
Are you aware of outstanding examples of best practice implementation in your state? Has your district adapted a WIDA resource to make it more relevant and useful at the local level? WIDA would love to know about such efforts, particularly if the results of this work would be helpful for other districts or states in our consortium, such as translation of our CAN DO Descriptors into languages other than English and Spanish. We would also consider posting an article about the project on our website or mentioning it in a newsletter. We would appreciate if you would invite others to contact us in the spirit of sharing across our consortium. Please contact help@wida.us or call toll free 1-866-276-7735 and ask for Andrea.
12-3-07
WIDA welcomes our 16th state, Virginia!
We are pleased to announce that the Virginia Department of Education has joined our consortium. ACCESS testing will begin this year in a small number of districts, with mandatory participation from all districts in 2008-09. We look forward to serving Virginia's 78,000 ELL students and collaborating with their educators!
11-27-07
Follow-up Forms Review held in Madison, WI
On November 26, 2007 WIDA staff along with five consortium educators conducted a follow-up forms review of the ACCESS for ELLs® assessment to further guarantee its quality for this academic year.
11-19-07
2008 ACCESS Item Writing course
WIDA is now accepting applications for ACCESS for ELLs® Item Writing course, due December 7th.
This is an online, graduate level course through which teachers delve more deeply into the WIDA Standards, learn about the construction of large scale language assessments, learn to craft test folders and items, and contribute real classroom-based items for ACCESS. For this work, teachers receive 2 graduate credits from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, transferable to any institution.
For more information about the course or to download an application, please see Item Writing.
10-25-07
2007 Edition of the WIDA ELP Standards
The final version of the ELP Standards, 2007 Edition is now available on this website! The Resource Guide will be posted later this year, and the print edition will be available in early 2008.
10-23-07
Alternate ACCESS for ELLs®
A small percentage of ELL students are not able to meaningfully participate in the ACCESS assessment because of a significant disability (e.g., cognitive disabilities, autism). For this reason, WIDA has been developing the Alternate ACCESS for ELLs® assessment for approximately the past two years. It will be available to Consortium states during the 2008-09 academic year. To learn more, please visit Alternate ACCESS.
10-9-07
Tech Report Released
The ACCESS for ELLs® Annual Technical Report No. 2, Series 101, 2005-2006 Administration is now available. Please email help@wida.us to request a copy. Report No. 3 (2006-07 Administration) will be available later this winter. These documents address the validity and reliability of the ACCESS test to accurately assign students their proficiency level scores.
10-2-07
The W-APT™ Score Calculator
The W-APT™ section of the website now offers a tool to save test administrators the time and trouble of manually converting raw scores and calculating the composite proficiency level (CPL) scores. With the click of a button, it calculates Speaking, Reading, Writing and Listening proficiency scores, along with the CPL score and a grade-adjusted CPL score. Unfortunately, it can not be applied to Kindergarten scores at this time, but will be updated in Spring of 2008 to include Kindergarten in addition to grades 1-12.
9-17-07
New Article Published about English Language Acquisition and WIDA
Check out a new article published this week featuring Tim Boals and Mariana Castro of the WIDA Consortium. You will need to click on "Fall 2007" at the following link: "WIDA builds foundation to address complex language challenges: 'Learning English' is not Enough'" by Kerry Hill [University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education Campus Connections (Fall 2007), 2-5].
09-13-07
2007 Professional Development Summer Institute
WIDA held its first Train of Trainers Institute August 20-23 in Madison, WI. Photos and a description of the presentation topics and discussions are now available.
08-31-07
Version 2.3 (2007) of the W-APT™ has been released on this site
Please login to this site to view and/or download the latest version of the assessment. Version 2.2 (2006) will remain valid as there are no significant changes to the test itself. If all test booklets have already been printed and are in use, it is not necessary to reprint each booklet. However, it is advised that 2006 score sheets be replaced with the latest version so that students' grade-specific proficiency level scores may be calculated (see bottom section of new score sheets).
Modifications to the 2007 version include:
- Revised Test Administration Manuals
- Grade level specific scores instead of grade level cluster specific scores
- Procedures for group administration (individual administration still advised) (group score sheets to be posted by September 7, 2007) If your school or district intends to group administer the W-APT™ assessment prior to that date, please email help@wida.us. The group scoring documents can be emailed to you directly.
- Modest enhancements to the graphics and test items
08-27-07
Higher Education Package for Instructors of Pre-Service ESL Teachers
For $5.00, WIDA currently offers a CD-ROM of WIDA-related materials for use in higher education classrooms. To read more about the CD-ROM and how to order it, please see the Resources page.
Coming soon! WIDA is currently in the process of developing a more comprehensive set of materials for use in higher education. This will include sample “modules” or lessons on how WIDA's curriculum, instruction and assessment goals can be introduced to students at this level. It will also include an annotated bibliography of recommended readings which could be completely customized or supplemented by the instructor, along with the ELP Standards, sample test items, and suggested assignments.
08-24-07
Scheduled D2L Outage/Electrical Shutdown
The D2L training course will be closed to all students and instructors (including WIDA test administrators and facilitators) from Sat Aug 25 at 5am until Sun Aug 26 at 3pm (campus electrical shutdown; times approximate). We apologize for the inconvenience.
08-13-07
Upcoming Forms Review
On August 29-30 in Madison, WI, a group consisting of 8 representatives from WIDA member states and 4 WIDA staff members will review the forms designed for the upcoming ACCESS for ELLs® test administration window. They will read the test forms against the revised administration manuals, checking for any points of confusion or inconsistency that may impact the testing process, as well as for the integrity of the items and forms themselves. Following this review, changes will be made to correct any errors and the materials will be proofread and revised before they are finalized.
Annual Board Meeting Summary
The board meeting held in Madison, WI June 25-27 was attended by representatives from each consortium member state and our partner organizations, WCER, CAL and MetriTech. Photos and a description of several of the discussion topics are now posted.
Scheduled D2L Outage/Upgrade
Please be aware that UW Oshkosh is scheduling an upgrade to the D2L system this August. This will involve closing down the D2L system to all students and instructors (including WIDA test administrators and facilitators) from 10 p.m. August 15 until 2 p.m. on August 16. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Upcoming Professional Development Institute
WIDA will hold a Professional Development Institute in Madison, WI August 20-23. The participants will include WIDA consultants as well as trainers from across our consortium. Without sacrificing the diversity and resources that our participants bring, our focus will be on building consistency across our assessment trainings, standards presentations, and workshops. In addition, we will share information with participants about the CLIMBS™ course and the Data Retreats® professional development activities. Participants are encouraged to bring their own laptops if feasible. Please contact Ilsa May with questions or concerns at 608-890-1812 or immay@wisc.edu.
08-10-07
Version 2.3 (2007) of the W-APT™ will be released on September 4
Version 2.2 (2006), which is currently posted on this website will remain valid, as there are no significant changes to the test itself.
The 2007 version will include:
- Revised Test Administration Manuals
- Grade level cut scores instead of grade level cluster cut scores
- Procedures for group administration (individual administration still advised)
- Modest enhancements to the graphics and test items
07-10-07
LADDER Grant
WIDA is pleased to announce that it was awarded a $1.5 million grant ($300,000 per year for five years) for its LADDER for ELLs™ professional development program. This program will assist consortium schools in making data-driven decisions about their English language learners.
The Magic Project WIDA
WIDA received a second professional development grant in conjunction with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. It involves the implementation of our CLIMBS™ course in two districts identified by the University: Green Bay and Milwaukee.
06-19-07
W-APT™ Survey
Earlier this month, WIDA's partner agency the Center for Applied Linguistics collected data via an electronic survey about the WIDA ACCESS Placement Test (W-APT)™ in order to inform and prioritize a redesign of the W-APT™ (to be available for use in the summer of 2008). Thank you to the 300 plus teachers and administrators who participated in this survey!
06-15-2007
CLIMBS™ Course Pilots Complete
In late summer 2006, WIDA began planning a pilot professional development course for teachers of English Language Learners in using Sheltered Instruction to apply the WIDA English language proficiency standards. CLIMBS™ stands for Content and Language Integration as a Means of Bridging Success.
A blended learning model of face-to-face workshops and online exercises was employed to facilitate collaboration amongst school teams of ESL/bilingual and mainstream/general subject-area teachers. During spring 2007, participants met for 5 full-day face-to-face sessions and interacted through online discussion boards and live chats, learning about the SIOP model and sharing challenges and successes in using the WIDA English language proficiency standards to increase ELL achievement.
In all, 43 teachers participated in the CLIMBS™ pilot course (19 in Illinois and 24 in Rhode Island). A total of 12 participant observers from additional WIDA states (District of Columbia, Vermont, and Wisconsin) attended various face-to-face sessions. Many thanks to all who participated and offered feedback for improving the course. CLIMBS™ will be offered again in Spring 2008. For more information, please e-mail wida-climbs@cal.org or see the Professional Development section of this website.
06-12-07
New photos and summary of the Content and Bias Review
New photos have been posted of the Content and Bias Review, along with a description of events and some of the questions our K-12 reviewers asked in relation to each item.
05-11-07
Content and Bias Review in Philadelphia May 21-23
Participants will review assessment items that were written during the latest item-writing course. Proposed items are for grades 1-12. At the end of this review process, the approved items will be subject to field testing. Three State Educational Agency representatives will participate: Harriette Herrera from Illinois, Brian Johnson from Wisconsin, and Maureen Keithley from Kentucky.
WIDA's Academic Assessment Coordinator Jesse Markow is currently finalizing plans with all participants in this review process, and questions can be directed to him at markow@wisc.edu or 608-262-7594.
05-09-07
New WIDA website
WIDA launched this new and improved website on May 9, 2007! Please give us your feedback!
The Revised 2007 ELP Standards have been posted. Copies of a print version will be available in summer of 2007. Please contact help@wida.us to preorder.
Translations of the 2007 Parent/Guardian Report are now available in 19 languages.
The WIDA staff has grown! Please visit WIDA Staff to get acquainted with our names, faces, and responsibilities.
A "menu" of WIDA professional development offerings has been posted, with a description of each presentation or course. You can also submit a fully automated professional development request form.
Each WIDA Consortium member state now has its own section of the website! Please visit the Member States page to learn about your state's WIDA contacts, guidelines, and important dates.
05-01-07
Grade Level Cut Scores adopted
As recommended by the WIDA Board and the WIDA Technical Advisory Committee, Dorry Kenyon and his team at CAL carried out a rigorous review of the cut scores for ACCESS for ELLs®. The cut scores were reviewed by educators from 14 WIDA states. ACCESS for ELLs® scores are now being reported by grade rather than grade level cluster. This should allow states, districts, and schools to more accurately monitor student progress by proficiency level. Technical Report 4, available this summer, will detail this process.
04-04-07
Scheduled D2L Upgrade/Outage
Please be aware that UW Oshkosh is scheduling an upgrade to the D2L system this May. This will involve closing down the D2L system to all students and instructors (including WIDA test administrators and facilitators) from 10 p.m. May 24 until 7 a.m. May 29. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Background