When working with multilingual learners, it’s important to know how we measure their English language growth. WIDA provides several assessments that help schools identify, place, and monitor students’ English development throughout the year. These tools give educators valuable insight into how students are progressing and what kind of support they need next.
Why WIDA Assessments Matter
WIDA assessments are designed to help teachers understand how students use language in academic settings. The results tell us how well students can communicate in English — not just in conversation, but also in reading, writing, listening, and speaking about school subjects.
Each test serves a specific purpose, such as identifying new English learners, placing students in the right instructional program, checking progress, or measuring overall achievement.
The Four Main Purposes of WIDA Assessments
- Identification – Helps determine if a new student should receive English language support.
- Placement – Used to assign students to the right language instruction program or class.
- Progress – Shows how much a student’s English has improved during the school year.
- Achievement – Measures overall language growth and helps decide if a student can exit ENL services.
By understanding these purposes, teachers can use test results to plan lessons that meet students where they are.
Overview of WIDA’s Main Assessment Tools
1. WIDA Screener
This is the first step for newly enrolled students. It helps schools identify students who may need English language support.
Uses: Identification, Placement
Grades: K–12
Format: Online or paper versions (paper is often used for kindergarten
or students with special needs)
2. WIDA MODEL
This flexible assessment can be given at any time during the year. It’s used to check progress and even predict how students might perform on the ACCESS test.
Uses: Identification, Placement, Progress
Grades: K–12
Format: Online or paper
Benefit: Helps teachers plan instruction based on student performance
3. WIDA ACCESS
This annual test is given to all English learners from kindergarten through grade 12. It measures how much students have grown in English proficiency and helps schools track their academic language development over time.
Uses: Placement, Progress, Achievement
Format: Online for grades 1–12, paper for kindergarten and students with
accommodations
There’s also an Alternate ACCESS version for students with significant cognitive disabilities.
What This Means for Teachers
WIDA assessments are not just tests — they’re tools that help teachers understand student language growth. The results can guide lesson planning, small-group instruction, and even how teachers scaffold reading or writing tasks.
Using this information, teachers can provide the right level of language support in each content area, ensuring that multilingual learners can fully participate and succeed in class.
Source:
WIDA. (n.d.). Assess. Retrieved from https://wida.wisc.edu