ACCESS for ELLs

EL Assessment Update: End of Year Reminders

Please review the following information carefully as we approach the end of another school year.

ACCESS for ELLs Test Results and Score Reports

Updated ACCESS for ELLs and Alternate ACCESS electronic test results were posted in WIDA AMS on Friday, June 9. School and District Frequency Reports, School Student Roster Reports, and updated Individual Student Reports (ISRs) can be retrieved from WIDA AMS.

Printed Individual Student Reports (ISRs) arrived in schools on May 17. The paper reports mailed to schools were printed in English only. If schools wish to mail a report to a parent in a language other than English, please log in to WIDA AMS and select Report Delivery>On-Demand Reports. On-Demand reports will reflect changes made during post-reporting data validation and scores of student booklets received by DRC no later than May 26.

Results will be made available in the DESE Security Portal DropBox and Edwin according to the following anticipated schedule:

Additional information regarding ACCESS for ELLs reporting can be found in the ACCESS for ELLs Reporting Workshop — May 2022 PowerPoint presentation on the Massachusetts state page of the WIDA website under Manuals, Guides and Workshops.

ACCESS Training Courses Unavailable for Summer 2023

The following ACCESS for ELLs training courses will be unavailable from June 30 through August 31, 2023:

• Online ACCESS for ELLs: Administration
• Paper ACCESS for ELLs: Administration
• Alternate ACCESS for ELLs: Administration and Scoring

Please see the article on the WIDA website for more information.

As a reminder, training and certification is required every two years in Massachusetts. If you took the trainings above last year, you do not need to recertify in 2024. You should review the training courses, however, to become familiar with technical enhancements to WIDA AMS and DRC INSIGHT.

Please note: All those who will administer the Alternate ACCESS for ELLs in 2024 will need to take the Alternate ACCESS for ELLs training course and certification quizzes prior to administering the new Alternate ACCESS for ELLs tests.

Updates to WIDA AMS and DRC INSIGHT for 2023–2024 (Beginning June 30)

Enhancements to DRC INSIGHT and WIDA AMS, including test demonstration and practice items, are coming June 30. Please see Get ready for 2023-24 updates to WIDA AMS and DRC INSIGHT for more information about these updates, including student and test management applications, new locations for score reports, and a new way to import student information. In addition, the DRC Technical Enhancement for 2023-2024 webinar in the WIDA Secure Portal provides useful information about these updates.

Scoring Appeals and Booklet Search Requests (Due June 15)

Scoring appeals and booklet search requests must be submitted to DESE by June 15 through the Service Now Form: Test Discrepancies — Request a Scoring Appeal or Test Booklet Search.

• A scoring appeal, for example, might be requested for a student who took the Speaking or Writing test online but for whom there are no results in WIDA AMS.
• A booklet search might be requested for a student whose test booklet was shipped to DRC using a District label containing incorrect information and whose test results are not provided in WIDA AMS.

You will be notified by the Department by June 23 if your request can be processed. A very limited number of requests can be submitted to the testing vendor.

Participation Discrepancies (Due July 12)

Districts and schools are responsible for reporting any errors in student participation (for example, students who were exited from EL status prior to ACCESS testing but were coded incorrectly as EL in March 2023 SIMS) to DESE at ACCESS@mass.gov by July 12.

Please check your student data to ensure there are no errors or missing reports. Errors in student participation cannot be corrected after July 12.

Thank you for your attention to these matters. Please email access@mass.gov with questions.