WIDA Standards, Assessments, and Professional Learning

Washington is part of the 42-state agency WIDA Consortium that promotes educational equity for multilingual learners through language development standards, assessments, and high-quality professional learning for P-12 educators.

WIDA Standards

Washington state adopted the WIDA English Language Development (ELD) Standards Framework in 2021. WIDA also offers new Spanish Language Development (SLD) Standards called WIDA Marco DALE.

• WIDA ELD Standards Roll-out Plan This OSPI developed plan includes objectives, professional learning resources and links, and suggested activities for the first three years of implementation of these new standards.
• Collaborative Planning Template | Spanish version – This template can be used for teachers to plan instruction that uses the WIDA ELD or SLD Standards Framework to integrate content, language, and literacy.

WIDA Assessments

Multilingual learners in Washington state are screened and tested annually using WIDA assessments. The following links provide more information on screening and testing in Washington state:

• English Language Proficiency Screeners
• English Language Proficiency Annual Assessments
• Alternate English Language Proficiency Assessment

WIDA Professional Learning

As members of the WIDA Consortium, all educators in Washington state public schools have access to high-quality professional learning through WIDA. These opportunities include self-paced workshops and live or virtual facilitated workshops led by WIDA professional development specialists. To access these workshops as well as all required WIDA assessment trainings, educators must log in through the WIDA Secure Portal.

Get a WIDA Secure Portal Account

All WIDA assessment materials, required trainings for screeners and assessments, and professional learning courses are in the WIDA Secure Portal, which can be accessed by all K-12 educators in Washington public schools. To get a Secure Portal account:

1. Email WIDA Help and ask to set up a WIDA Secure Portal account for assessments and eLearning. You must use your district email address.
2. You will receive an email from WIDA Client Services Center informing you that an account has been set up.
3. Go to: WIDA Login webpage.
4. Select: WIDA Secure Portal
5. Login to the WIDA Secure Portal with your district email address and password.

WIDA Self-Paced Workshops

The following self-paced WIDA Workshops are available from September 1, 2024, to August 31, 2025, to support effective instruction and language development for multilingual learners. All learning opportunities have free clock hours and are available to all K-12 public school educators. Private schools who opt into federal Title III services are eligible for these courses as well. Contact your school administrator for more information.

To earn free clock hours, use the following links to register through pdEnroller. 

2024-25 New Courses:  

• Desarrollando el Español: las expectativas del lenguaje   
• Let’s Play! Multilingual Children’s Joyful Learning in PreK-3   
• Reading Comprehension Across Content Areas with MLs   

2024-25 Returning Courses: 

• The WIDA Standards Framework: A Collaborative Approach  
• Developing Language for Learning in Mathematics  
• Engaging Multilingual Learners in Science: Making Sense of Phenomena   
• Exploring the WIDA PreK-3 Essential Actions 
• Making Language Visible in the Classroom  
• Newcomers: Promoting Success through Strengthening Practice  
• Reframing Education for Long-term English Learners   
• Teaching Multilingual Learners Social Studies through Multiple Perspectives  

WIDA Facilitated Workshops

WIDA facilitated workshops for the 2024-25 school year are still being scheduled.

Facilitation Materials for WIDA Professional Learning

School and district leaders can use these facilitation materials to engage educators in using the WIDA self-paced workshops in interactive professional learning. Videos or slides can be used to introduce each module with educators completing the module after each session.

The WIDA Standards Framework: A Collaborative Approach:

• Module 1: Educator Perspectives video | Presentation Slides
• Module 2: Student Assets video | Presentation Slides
• Module 3: Key Language Uses video | Presentation Slides
• Module 4 & 5: Language Expectations, Functions, & Features video | Presentation Slides
• Module 6: Proficiency Level Descriptors video | Presentation Slides

WIDA Resources

WIDA offers many additional resources to facilitate sharing information on standards, assessments, and professional learning, including:

• ACCESS for ELLs – Parent letters, handouts, and guides to explain what ACCESS is, who takes ACCESS, and how to understand the score report.
• Focus Bulletins – WIDA publications that explore issues in the field of ELL education.
• Family Resources – Material that can help families understand the range of WIDA assessments, as well as what it means to be an English learner.
• Research and Technical Reports – Scholarly reports and briefs written by WIDA researchers about issues of interest in the field of ELL education.

Visit the WIDA Resource Library for a complete list of resource topics and types.

For resources in Spanish, visit WIDA Español.