English Language Proficiency Annual Assessments

WIDA logo

The WIDA ACCESS is the annual assessment Washington began using in spring of 2022. It is an online assessment given to all students in grades 1 to 12 who are eligible for English language development (ELD) services. Students in Kindergarten will take the WIDA Kindergarten ACCESS test as their annual ELP assessment. Both of these assessments measures students’ English language proficiency, both knowledge and skills, in four language domains (reading, listening, writing, and speaking).

Students can score between a level 1 and level 6 in each of these language domains.

2024 Annual Testing Window

January 29 to March 22

WIDA Exit Criteria

OSPI has established the following criteria for students exiting the English language development (ELD) program

Grade Level

Minimum Overall Score

K-1

4.0

2-12

4.7
  • Students in Kindergarten and first grade who score at least a 4.0 will exit ELD services.
  • Students in grades 2-12 who score at least 4.7 overall will exit ELD services.
  • Students in grades 2-12 who score between a 4.3 and 4.6 and earn a level 3 or 4 on the ELA portion of the SBA test can also exit ELD services.

We recognize that the annual scores for exiting ELD services are not identical to the screener eligibility criteria established in 2021. The screener is a much shorter test that does not offer the same level of detail in understanding a student's language development. For this reason, the slightly higher expectation on the less detailed test is intentional. Both criteria will be reviewed in the future, along with test results and other data, to ensure appropriate identification.

Resources

Additional resources and information will be coming as it is developed.

Migrant & Bilingual Education