Helping States Meet Needs and Fulfill Requirements

  • Each member state in WIDA has a voice and a vote in the direction of the Consortium.

  • By joining forces and pooling resources, our states are able to meet the requirements of NCLB in an effective, economical manner. For example, WIDA has conducted several bridge studies between previously used state English language proficiency assessments and ACCESS for ELLs that help to inform bridge studies that we could conduct for new states. WIDA is also developing and validating an alternate assessment for use with ELLs who are not able to meaningfully participate in the regular ACCESS for ELLs. These are examples of efforts that would be difficult for a single state to undertake alone.

  • WIDA has already procured the services of contractors in a manner which meets or exceeds typical state procurement requirements for bidding and sole sourcing of contracts on behalf of our member states. We can provide new states with the documentation needed to meet your procurement requirements.

  • WIDA is affiliated with many leaders in the fields of language education, curriculum development, and assessment. Examples include the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL), Margo Gottlieb, Rebecca Kopriva, and Gary Cook.

  • WIDA always involves teachers from many if not all member states in its development processes to ensure that products are relevant for use with students. These tasks include test item development (through a semester-long graduate course), content and bias reviews, alignment, standards setting studies, drafting and reviewing publications, and a variety of other tasks.

  • Consortium prices are competitive with commercial companies. Since we are a non-profit cooperative, prices may be adjusted up to reflect inflation or Board priorities or down as new members enter, creating economies of scale. The WIDA base price per student includes printing, distributing, scoring, and reporting the ACCESS for ELLs. It also includes online test administration training, face-to-face professional development days, research services, Help Desk support, and other benefits. There is no upfront cost for joining the Consortium. Contact Jesse Markow at 608-262-7594 for more information regarding membership.

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