WIDA ACCESS (ELL Assessment)

In May 2012, the Colorado legislature provided the funding needed to proceed with the adoption of new English language proficiency exams.  Both World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) exams, the placement W-APT and the ACCESS proficiency, were implemented in the 2012-2013 school year.

To better align with the Colorado State Board of Education’s 2009 decision to adopt the WIDA standards as the Colorado English Language Proficiency (CELP) standards, Colorado is beginning the transition from Colorado’s CELAplace and CELApro tests to WIDA’s W-APT (WIDA-ACCESS Placement Test) and ACCESS for ELLs (Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State for English Language Learners). 

Beginning Oct. 1, 2012, the W-APT is the placement assessment that will be used, and in Jan. 2013, ACCESS will be used for proficiency testing.  A few years ago, we transitioned to ACCESS for ELL's online testing and will continue with this test for this school year.

For more information about WIDA assessments, visit their website here.