Greetings and welcome back to school. Following are several important updates regarding WIDA and ACCESS for ELLs testing.
Results of the 2021 ACCESS tests were provided to schools electronically on August 5, 2021 in WIDA AMS.
2021 ACCESS printed reports were delivered to schools on September 8, 2021. Districts should have received a District Frequency Report. Schools should have received a shipment of the following ACCESS for ELLs printed reports:
Schools are expected to send a copy of the printed Individual Student Report (ISR) to the home of each student. Schools and/or districts with a secure communication system, such as a password-protected "parent portal," may use it to send the reports electronically to parents; please provide paper copies of the reports to parents who do not have the ability to receive them electronically.
Student-level 2021 ACCESS for ELLs electronic results can be found in DropBox (ACCESS2021_student_level_R1_and_R2_), and in Edwin in the Security Portal (EL627 — ACCESS for ELLs Student Roster) in mid-October that include:
School and District information available in mid-October in Edwin (EL327 — ACCESS for ELLs Student Roster) will include:
When you received your student results in WIDA AMS on August 5 and in print on September 8, you may have noticed that several ISRs and other reports appeared incomplete. Some errors in student demographic information can be corrected locally during Pre-Reporting Data Validation, which was July 6–12, 2021 this year, or Post-Reporting Data Validation (September 8–16, 2021), but others may require action from DRC.
Errors that can be corrected during Data Validation are:
Ensure that the information above is correct and matches exactly with other student records in AMS to allow DRC to merge any incomplete results that may appear under two student records. Other errors may require action from DRC, such as Scoring Appeals and Booklet Search Requests (see below).
Scoring Appeals and Booklet Search RequestsUpon reviewing ISRs and student records during Data Validation, you may notice a student whose writing or speaking score was missing, but whom you are confident took the test and returned their materials to DRC. In such cases, you may request a Scoring Appeal.
A Booklet Search may also be requested if the booklet included a district/school label with student information bubbled incorrectly, or student information was bubbled but no district/school label was affixed, or you suspect that a pen, rather than a number 2 pencil, was used to complete the information in the booklet.
Scoring Appeals and Booklet Search requests must be submitted to the Department through this online form by October 7. You will be informed by the Department if your request can be processed, since only a limited number of requests can be processed.
Two workshops on reporting ACCESS results will be offered to provide information on statewide results, accessing student, school, and district-level reports in WIDA AMS, and locating results on the Department's website and security portal. Workshops will be held on September 22 from 1:30–3:00 PM and September 23 from 9:30–11:00 AM.
Please register for one session only. Information presented will be the same in both workshops. Registration is limited to one participant per district, unless the District Test Coordinator received an email indicating that more spaces were available for that district. A confirmation email and link to the workshop will be sent by Alchemer after your registration is complete.
The K Screener is not yet available for use as a tool to identify students for English language services. The K W-APT and the K MODEL are the only screeners approved for that purpose. The K Screener is anticipated to be ready for use as a screening tool in January 2022. Meanwhile, district staff who routinely screen students in grades K and 1 should be trained on using the K Screener. Training for the K Screener is available in the WIDA Secure Portal in the "Assessment Training" section. Check "Screener for Kindergarten" from the topics listed and click "Apply filters". Materials may be downloaded and printed from the "Course Resources" link. Training is available by clicking on the "Course Details" link, then clicking "Enroll Now".
A field study is in process to determine the appropriate screener cut scores for proficiency in Speaking and Listening. We thank those districts that volunteered to be a part of the field study and want to invite additional districts to volunteer to be part of the next phase of the field study in late fall to determine K Screener proficiency cut scores in the Reading and Writing domains that will be used to screen incoming second semester kindergarteners.
The Department plans to analyze the results of the field study to assist in setting scores for determining whether a student in kindergarten is an English learner or is English proficient.
It is important that EL students are reported accurately in the district's October 2021 Student Information Management System (SIMS) and that this report includes removal of the "EL" designation if a student has recently exited EL status. Inform your District Directory Administrator of students who have exited EL status and should no longer be reported as EL.
Please ensure that the names and contact information for staff in the roles of EL Program Director (EL Director), ACCESS for ELLs Test Coordinator, Educational Technology Director, and Principal have been updated by your district's Directory Administrator in the Department's School and District Profiles, if this information has changed since last year. These roles should also be updated in the WIDA Secure Portal and in WIDA AMS by the District ACCESS for ELLs Test Coordinator.
The WIDA Secure Portal has been updated and has a new look and feel. Permissions that were available before the change on September 1, however, should still be available to you. If they are not, please contact WIDA at help@wida.us or 866-276-7735. Note that District Test Coordinators should have "Account Coordinator" permissions, allowing them to assign permissions and create accounts for others in the district.
For more information about the changes to the WIDA Secure Portal, please see the video titled Get familiar with the redesigned WIDA Secure Portal by signing in to the portal and by viewing the "Welcome Back: What's New in 2021?" video under the "Webinars" tab in the WIDA Secure Portal. Filter for "recorded" in the "format" section, and click on "Apply Filters."
A WIDA personal account will be required to access the training materials and other resources available on the WIDA website. If you already have a WIDA personal account, then it is still valid for the 2021–2022 school year. If you need a new account, please contact your District ACCESS for ELLs Test Coordinator to ask that one be created for you.
Please update your WIDA AMS account if your contact information has changed. The WIDA Assessment Management System (AMS) supports the administration of ACCESS for ELLs tests, including entering and editing student information, managing students taking ACCESS tests, and viewing ACCESS test results. If you need a new account, please contact your District ACCESS for ELLs Test Coordinator to ask that one be created for you.
Thank you for your attention to this important information from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Please contact Student Assessment Services with any questions about ACCESS for ELLs testing at ACCESS@mass.gov or by phone at 781-338-3625.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 135 Santilli Highway, Everett, MA 02149
Voice: (781) 338-3000 TTY: (800) 439-2370
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