Who we are & our history

Mission

WIDA advances academic language development and academic achievement for linguistically diverse students through high quality standards, assessments, research, and professional development for educators.

Vision

To be the most trusted resource in the education of PreKindergarten through Grade 12 language learners.

Values

WIDA's Can Do Philosophy: believing in the assets, contributions, and potential of linguistically diverse students

Collaboration: facilitating interaction among educators, state and local educational agencies, researchers, policy-makers, and experts worldwide

Innovation: drawing from research and practice to find the best solutions for students and educators

Service: exceeding expectations with friendly and knowledgeable support of our customers and stakeholders

WIDA History

	Milestone Events		By the Numbers
2001	No Child Left Behind Act, Title III brings English language learners into the spotlight
2002	WIDA grant proposal submitted
2003	WIDA is born after an Enhanced Assessment Grant was awarded to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, WIDA's first home The Center for Applied Linguistics is named in the grant as WIDA's test development partner
2004	WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards completed First Standards-Based Test Item Writing course offered	2004	Initial ACCESS for ELLs field test of Listening, Reading, and Writing administered in IL, WI, AR, RI, DC, DE, ME, and VT to 6,662 students Initial ACCESS for ELLs field test of Speaking administered in WI and DC to 523 students Initial Kindergarten ACCESS for ELLs field test administered in the DC to 154 students
2005	W-APT first administered for identification and placement of ELL students	2005	Spring - ACCESS for ELLs administered in AL, ME, and VT to 18,000 students	2005-2006 ACCESS for ELLs administered in 12 states to 369,386 students 25 professional development workshops delivered
2006	WIDA moved to new home at Wisconsin Center for Education Research	2006	2006-2007 ACCESS for ELLs administered in 15 states to 464,547 students 38 professional development workshops delivered
2007	Alternate ACCESS for ELLs grant received to develop an ELP assessment for students with significant disabilities ONPAR grant received to develop content area assessments for students with beginning to intermediate levels of language proficiency WIDA ELP Standards to ACCESS for ELLs Assessment Alignment Study Report published CLIMBS graduate course piloted supporting teacher collaboration in integrating content and language standards LADDER for ELLs grant received to build the capacity of ELL leadership teams to systematically use data for improving programming and instruction First professional development academy held WIDA ELP Standards and Resource Guide, 2007 Edition published	2007		2007-2008 ACCESS for ELLs administered in 16 states to 488,836 students 74 professional development workshops, two academies, and one institute delivered
2008	Partnered with Center for Applied Linguistics to host first conference booth Alternate ACCESS for ELLs grant received to develop performance-based and portfolio-based assessments FLARE grant received to develop a formative assessment system for ELLs at the secondary level WIDA ELL Can Do Booklets published for each grade-level cluster New format of Kindergarten ACCESS for ELLs and WIDA MODEL for Kindergarten assessment released ACCESS for ELLs Sample Items (Grades 1-12) published	2008	2008-2009 ACCESS for ELLs administered in 19 states to 684,785 students 110 professional development workshops, two academies, and one institute delivered
2009	First WIDA Focus Bulletin published Research team kicked off Data Warehouse initiative	2009		2009-2010 ACCESS for ELLs administered in 22 states to 781,126 students 124 professional development workshops, two academies, and three institutes delivered
2010	PRIME Correlation program introduced to analyze instructional materials' relationship to the WIDA ELP Standards WIDA MODEL for Grades 1-2 and 3-5 assessments released First Professional Certification Institute held for ACCESS for ELLs and WIDA ELP Standards trainers The Madison Academic Language Working Group formed as a result of summit hosted by WIDA and WestEd SALSA grant received to develop Spanish Language Development Standards for Kindergarten-Grade 12 and a Spanish language proficiency assessment for grades K-2	2010	2010-2011 ACCESS for ELLs administered in 23 states to 824,919 students 131 professional development workshops, two academies, and three institutes delivered
2011	University of Oklahoma E-TEAM published WIDA ELP Standards to Common Core State Standards alignment report WIDA MODEL for Grades 6-8 and 9-12 assessments released ASSETS grant received to build a comprehensive and balanced technology-based assessment system for English language learners WIDA blog created	2011		2011-2012 ACCESS for ELLs administered in 27 states to 975,441 students 148 professional development workshops, two academies, two institutes, and four regional conferences delivered
2012	Grant received to co-host with WestEd a research conference on the sociocultural contexts of academic literacy development in adolescent ELLs Winners of WIDA Video Contest announced 2012 Amplification of the WIDA ELD Standards published 2012 Debut of the amplified ELD Standards conferences held in Madison, Denver, Charlotte, and Boston	2012	2012-2013 Info coming soon
2013	Online lesson plan share space launched Response to Instruction & Intervention (RtI²) for ELLs guide released Featured Educators honored monthly on WIDA website for their work in the field of ELL education	2013	2012-2013 Info coming soon