2009 ACCESS for ELLs Test Overview
ACCESS for ELLs stands for Assessing Comprehension in English State-to-State for English Language Learners. It is a large-scale test of English language proficiency based on the English language development standards that form the core of the WIDA Consortium's approach to instructing and assessing English language learners in grades K-12. It is a secure assessment given annually during a specific testing window determined by each state. As such, ACCESS for ELLs is used to satisfy state and federal requirement for the annual assessment of the English language proficiency of English language learners.
The ACCESS for ELLs test assesses students' English language proficiency in five different content areas: Social and Instructional Language (SIL), which incorporates proficiencies needed to deal with the general language of the classroom and the school; the Language of English Language Arts (LoLA), the Language of Mathematics (LoMA), the Language of Science (LoSC), and the Language of Social Studies (LoSS). These standards incorporate a set of model Performance Indicators (PIs) that describe the expectations educators have of ELL students in grades K-12 at four different grade level clusters in each of the above five content areas. The grade level clusters include Kindergarten, 1-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12.
For each grade level, there is a test in each of the four language domains: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. The Listening and Reading sections consist of multiple-choice questions. The Writing and Speaking sections are made up of performance tasks that are scored according to specific rubrics. Listening, Reading, and Writing sections can be group-administered and are centrally scored. The Speaking test is an individually-administered, adaptive test that is scored by the test administrator.
The WIDA framework recognizes the continuum of language development within the four domains with six English language proficiency levels. These levels describe the spectrum of a learner's progression from knowing little to no English to acquiring the English skills necessary to be successful in an English-only mainstream classroom without extra support. This final, exit stage for ELL status is designated Level 6 (formerly ELL). The levels, in order from lowest to highest, are labeled as follows:
Level 1: Entering
Level 2: Beginning
Level 3: Developing
Level 4: Expanding
Level 5: Bridging
Level 6: Reaching
Drawn from the PIs, the ACCESS for ELLs incorporates all five standards and English language proficiency levels in sections that correspond to the four domains. The target administration times for each section of the test for grades 1-12 are:
- Listening: 20-25 minutes, machine scored
- Reading: 35-40 minutes, machine scored
- Writing: Up to 1 hour, rater scored
- Speaking: Up to 15 minutes, administrator scored
The Kindergarten test is individually-administered and takes an average of 30 minutes per student. Kindergarten students with very high English language proficiency may take around 45 minutes to complete the test while students with low levels of English language proficiency may take only a few minutes.
The goal of the ACCESS for ELLs test is to allow students to demonstrate their level of proficiency through the PIs. However, there are far too many PIs altogether to present to any single test taker. A test with questions assessing each and every PI would be far too long to fit in any reasonable testing session. For any particular child, some of the questions on a comprehensive test might be dismissively easy, making it boring, while others would be exactingly hard, making it frustrating. It is important to avoid both possibilities to achieve a reliable test.
The WIDA framework recognizes the continuum of language development within each domain with five proficiency levels. The five proficiency levels overlap on three tiers of test forms - designated A, B, and C - for each grade level, as depicted below.
{Tiers}
The language proficiency levels delineate expected performance and describe what English language learners can reasonably be expected to do within each domain of the standards. Level 6 is reserved for those students for whom assessments have shown that the English language is no longer a barrier to accessing academic content appropriate to their grade level; in other words, language support is no longer necessary for students who reach Level 6.
