Greetings and welcome back to school. We are providing you with preliminary information on the 2019 ACCESS for ELLs tests, and additional information and resources to assist in preparing to administer the ACCESS tests in January/February 2019.
The Student Assessment office will provide you with frequent updates during the school year to familiarize you and your staff with testing requirements and assist you in planning and scheduling the ACCESS tests. The Fall 2018 ACCESS Principal's Pre-Administration Manual will be available soon with details on the tasks to be completed by schools prior to testing.
Please review and forward this and future EL Assessment Updates to your staff, as appropriate.
A WIDA personal account will be required to access the training materials and other resources available on the WIDA website. WIDA accounts set up previously are still active. If you already have an account from last year, do not create a new personal account. Educators who wish to set up an account may do so contacting their district test coordinator. Instructions will remain posted on the Department's website as well. The username will remain: massachusetts and the password: patriot, to access the account creator. Educators may also update their WIDA personal account with new information (e.g., if moving to a new district or another WIDA member state) by first logging in, then using the gray column on the right. New principals and Test Coordinators may contact the WIDA help desk at 866-276-7735 or help@wida.us for assistance in setting up their personal accounts and receiving district level permissions.
Contact WIDA Help at 866-276-7735 or help@wida.us for assistance in setting up or accessing a WIDA personal account.
A WIDA Assessment Management System (AMS) account will be required to order test materials; manage the addition, updating, and deletion of student names and information; manage the administration of online ACCESS tests; and view score reports.
Existing WIDA AMS accounts will remain active for 2019 ACCESS testing. Existing users can create accounts for new users in their district or school. Instructions for managing users can be found in the WIDA AMS User Guide.
New ACCESS Test Coordinators must update information in ESE District Profiles for the role of District ACCESS Coordinator before contacting the DRC help desk at 855-787-9615 or WIDA@DataRecognitionCorp.com to create an initial account. All other accounts can be created and managed at the district or school level.
Please ensure that EL students are reported accurately in the district's October 2018 Student Information Management System (SIMS) and inform your District Directory Administrator of students who have exited EL status who should no longer be reported as EL.
For the 2018 2019 school year, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education expects virtually all Massachusetts students to take computer-based (i.e., online) ACCESS tests. IEP teams or 504 coordinators must determine whether a student is able to take the online test (with or without a handwriting booklet) or would require a paper-based test as an accommodation, and list this information in the student's IEP or 504 plan. EL educators familiar with the student may also determine that a first-year EL (i.e., a student who was first reported as EL in the October 2018 SIMS) requires a paper-based test. The Kindergarten and Alternate ACCESS for ELLs tests will continue to be offered in paper-based format. Additional information and technology requirements and readiness checklists are available on the WIDA website.
See the upcoming 2018-2019 ACCESS for ELLs Checklist for more information regarding required online training modules.
The following technology documents have been updated for the 2018-19 administration and are posted in WIDA AMS. Links to these documents are also found in the WIDA Secure Portal behind the Technology Coordinators tile.
Schools will receive an email from DRC, WIDA's testing contractor, on or about October 15 with instructions for ordering test materials through the WIDA Assessment Management System (AMS), the online administrative portal, until the end of the ordering window on November 9. If ordering paper-based test materials, it is recommended that test coordinators view the Ordering Materials training module on the WIDA website before placing their orders. Schools should begin preparing a list of EL students with disabilities who will require paper-based tests to make the actual ordering process more efficient.
Effective September 24, 2018, Massachusetts educators who have a WIDA personal account will begin receiving weekly emails from WIDA regarding relevant information on the instruction and assessment of ELs in Massachusetts. Please review this important information.
WIDA will hold monthly webinars from September 2018–May 2019. The webinar schedule, topics, and the links to join webinars are available in the Download Library on the WIDA Secure Portal available through your WIDA personal account.
The 2018-2019 ACCESS for ELLs training tutorials are now available in the WIDA Secure Portal behind the Paper-Based Grades 1–12 and Online Grades 1–12 tiles.
The Supplemental Training for the Speaking test, available within the ACCESS for ELLs Paper training course, has been updated for the 2018-2019 administration.
WIDA has also made available the Speaking Test at a Glance infographic that provides guidance for test administrators who are planning to administer the ACCESS for ELLs Paper Speaking Test.
The INSIGHT secure browser was released on Thursday, June 28. This may cause a short delay when opening the secure browser for the first time. The TSM will remain the same as the 2017-18 school year.
The DRC System Status web page provides real-time updates on operations and occasional outages of WIDA AMS, INSIGHT, the Testing Site Manager, and Educator Scoring (On Demand Reports). Educators can now subscribe (click button in upper right corner) to receive email updates when the status of any online system changes. We encourage you to take advantage of this feature that will make you immediately aware of any service interruptions impacting the WIDA Screener or ACCESS for ELLs testing.
Please contact Student Assessment Services with any questions about ACCESS for ELLs testing at access@doe.mass.edu or by phone at 781-338-3625.
Thank you for your attention to this important information.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 135 Santilli Highway, Everett, MA 02149
Voice: (781) 338-3000 TTY: (800) 439-2370
Disclaimer: A reference in this website to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm, or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the public and does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.