The NC State Board of Education approved the adoption of the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) Consortium’s English language proficiency standards as North Carolina’s English Language Development Standard Course of Study in June 2008.  What is the WIDA Consortium?
The World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) consortium works to develop standards and resources related to the support of English language Learners (ELLS).  There are nineteen states (Alabama, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin) partnered in the consortium.

The following information comes directly from the WIDA website (www.wida.org), “the WIDA Consortium has developed English language proficiency standards and an English language proficiency test aligned with those standards (ACCESS for ELLs®). In addition, WIDA has developed Spanish language arts standards and is planning a system of parallel academic assessments for beginning English language learners (ONPAR™). Research and professional development activities importantly complement the WIDA standards and assessment products.”

Why was there a need to adopt the new standards, a new English language Proficiency test (ACCESS for ELLs®, and a new placement test (W-APT)? What are their advantages over those used previously?
North Carolina is required by NCLB Title III to align the English Language Development (ELD) Standards to the achievement of the State academic standards of math, science, and English language arts.  The 2003 ELD SCS was not aligned with all these content standards.   At the same time, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) made the decision to look at changing North Carolina’s English language proficiency test (required by Title III of NCLB) to provide the most effective data for making decisions regarding ELL students.  The former English language proficiency test had equating and scaling issues.  Plus, new or revised standards require a new test.

The WIDA consortium provides ELD standards based on the language of the content areas, providing the alignment NC was looking to provide.  WIDA’s annual language proficiency test, the ACCESS (Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State for English Language Learners), addresses these standards.  This is an advantage we did not have with our prior standards and language proficiency test.

Likewise, the WIDA ACCESS Placement Test (W-APT) addresses the language of the content areas and provides base data for making instructional decisions for ELL students.  The W-APT, unlike previous tests, becomes a guideline for determining the level an ELL student will take on the annual ACCESS for ELLs®.

For readers who are not familiar with the W-APT, could you give a brief description of how it was developed and what it is designed to measure?
The W-APT is an initial assessment, or screener test, used to measure the English language proficiency of students who may be identified Limited English Proficient (LEP).  The test addresses all four language domains (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) as well as the language necessary to be successful in the content areas and in social and instructional situations.

The W-APT provides teachers with a level of language proficiency and helps to determine what type of English as Second Language (ESL) services, if any, that an LEP student may need.

Who administers and scores the test?  Is extensive training required for administrators?
The W-APT is administered and scored by a trained test administrator.  District LEP Coordinators were trained at the state level using a train-the-trainer model and were required to provide appropriate face-to-face training within their individual districts.

The W-APT is scored as it is given to individual students, therefore test administrators must have sufficient knowledge of the scoring rubrics provided by WIDA.  Although these rubrics are presented and discussed in trainings, it is highly recommended that test administrators practice with them before administration of the test.

WIDA also provides an on-line training for their annual ACCESS test, which more than covers administration of the W-APT.  Districts in NC were allowed to decide whether or not to require the on-line training for their test administrators.

Has the transition to the WIDA standards and placement test generally been smooth?  Will any changes be made in their implementation for the 2009-10 school year?
The transition was quite quick!  North Carolina officially joined the WIDA Consortium in June of 2008.  For districts with year-round schools, this meant that W-APT testing would occur in July.

The WIDA Consortium’s “power” standards are quite different from the 2003 English Language Development Standard Course of Study (ELD SCS) which teachers previously utilized as curriculum.  For example, WIDA Standard 2, or The Language of Language Arts states “English language learners communicate information, ideas and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of Language Arts.

In my opinion, these broad standards give us much flexibility in our ability to collaborate with classroom teachers and provide relevant language instruction that addresses the language ELL students need to be successful in the content areas.  They also show direct linkage to the academic language of the content which makes them more user friendly for use by content teachers of LEP students than the former ELD SCS.

Has there been sufficient time to assess outcomes of the use of the new standards and test?  If so, could you address both their positive and negative aspects?
Implementation is a slow process, and it will take more time for districts to fully understand and utilize the standards in the most effective way.

We are looking forward to the data we will receive from ACCESS (annual) testing and being able to utilize this data to make more effective decisions for our ELLs.  However, we will need at least 2-3 years of data to truly assess the outcomes of the use of the WIDA standards within districts, as well as throughout the state as a whole.