WIDA Basics
This assessment is used to measure English-language proficiency among multilingual learners in some states across the United States.
What is the WIDA ACCESS test?
A student has a higher Listening score than Writing, which tells the teacher the student likely needs more support in this domain.
What is Writing?
A teacher provides sentence frames like “I think ___ because ___” to help a Level 2–3 student participate in academic discussions.
What are sentence frames (or language scaffolds)?
This annual assessment must be given to all identified English Learners to measure their English language proficiency.
What is the WIDA ACCESS test?
This strategy helps students process academic language by having them first think individually, then discuss with a partner, and finally share with the class.
What is Think-Pair-Share (TPS)?
These are the four language domains assessed by WIDA to evaluate students’ English proficiency.
What are Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing?
A student scored 4.5 in Speaking but 3.0 in Reading, so the teacher should prioritize instruction in this domain to support overall growth.
What is Reading?
After noticing a low Writing score, a teacher models a paragraph, highlights key vocabulary, and guides students through a shared writing activity before independent work.
What is modeled and scaffolded writing instruction?
This is the required timeframe when English Learners must be assessed each year according to state and federal guidelines.
What is the WIDA testing window?
This strategy uses movement to help students memorize vocabulary and systems.
What is Total Physical Response/ (TPR)
This WIDA framework tool helps teachers understand what students can do at different proficiency levels in each domain.
What are the WIDA Can Do Descriptors?
When a student’s domain scores vary widely, this WIDA resource helps teachers identify what the student can do in each domain and plan targeted support.
What are the WIDA Can Do Descriptors?
A teacher groups students by similar WIDA domain needs and provides different tasks, supports, or language expectations based on their proficiency levels.
What is differentiated instruction based on language proficiency?
This document outlines the services, supports, and instructional plan provided to an English Learner and must be followed for compliance.
What is an EL Plan (or language support plan)?
This strategy uses student-friendly definitions, visuals, examples, and non-examples to deepen understanding of academic vocabulary.
What is the Frayer Model?
This type of score combines all four language domains into one overall measure of a student’s English proficiency level.
What is the WIDA Composite Score?
A student has an overall composite of 3.8 but a Writing score of 2.9, which indicates this specific need despite being close to proficiency.
What is targeted support in Writing (or focusing instruction on Writing)?
A teacher explicitly teaches both the content objective and the language objective, ensuring students know how they will use language to demonstrate understanding.
What are content and language objectives?
Schools must provide this to English Learners so they can meaningfully access grade-level content instruction.
What is language support (or appropriate accommodations and services)?
This strategy organizes information visually using categories, relationships, or sequences to support understanding of complex content.
What are Graphic Organizers?
This instructional practice uses WIDA data to set language goals, provide feedback, and adjust teaching to support student growth.
What is data-informed instruction (or using WIDA data to guide instruction)?
A teacher uses WIDA scores to group students, set language goals, and provide differentiated supports aligned to proficiency levels.
What is using WIDA data to differentiate instruction?
A teacher uses WIDA data to set individual language goals, provides ongoing feedback aligned to those goals, and adjusts instruction based on student progress over time.
What is goal-setting and feedback-driven instruction (or formative assessment cycle aligned to WIDA)?
This federal requirement ensures that English Learners are identified, provided services, and monitored for progress, protecting their right to equitable education.
What is Title III (or federal compliance for English Learners)?
This strategy gradually releases responsibility from teacher modeling to independent student work through the stages “I do, We do, You do.”
What is Gradual Release of Responsibility?