1. ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 2017 Score Changes
Presentation for Teachers and Administrators
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You may want to review additional materials related to this topic on the WIDA website prior to sharing this powerpoint. You can watch a webinar of WIDA staff presenting these slides at In addition, a video overview of the topic is available.
You may watch the webinar or video for your own learning or think about showing them to colleagues.

2. Overview 1 2 3 4 5 What has changed? How might it impact my students?
Example students 3
Takeaways 4
Your questions 5
The purpose of this presentation is to provide an overview of how the scores on the ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 assessment will be changing. First, we will explain how the scoring of the assessment has changed this year. We will tell you how these changes may affect your students’ scores on this year’s assessment when we compare them to last year. And finally, we will save time for your questions.

3. What are the ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 Score Changes for 2017?
The WIDA ELD Standards are not changing.
The expectations for student performance on the assessment (ACCESS for ELLs 2.0) have changed.
The test items are not harder, but we have changed how student scores are interpreted into proficiency levels.
Students must demonstrate higher language skills to achieve the same proficiency levels.
These are the basics. One way to describe the changes is that scores are now derived using a more rigorous score scale.
You can read more about the change at

4. What do increased expectations on ACCESS for ELLs 2. 0 mean
What do increased expectations on ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 mean? What will this mean for students?
To give it a metaphor, it means they will face higher hurdles to achieve the same level of success on the test, and they will need strong language support in the classroom to clear those hurdles. The hurdles have gone up because when demands for content success increase, the demands for language embedded in that more complex content are also higher.

5. What can we expect? Some students’ scores may go down in 2017.
Fewer students may exit program support.
Applying the new score scale to last year’s test results ( ), about 95% of students would receive a lower overall composite proficiency level than on the old score scale, about 1% would see an increase, and the rest had no change.

6. Here you can see the distribution of 8th grade students using last year’s test results. We previously had about 45% of students scoring in levels 4-6. That has decreased to just 30% with the new score scale applied. Students achieving levels 5 and 6 went down to around 5%. If your exit criteria was level 5.0, you might have exited about 15% of 8th grade students last year, but now that would only be about 5%.

7. Main Ideas
Need to ensure that ELLs receive the support they need for success and do not exit programs too early.
Scores vary for MANY reasons.
2017 is a fresh start: new baseline for growth.
Identify and build on strengths.
This truly is an opportunity to make sure we are supporting students to ensure their success.
Scores can vary for these reasons and more: individual circumstances, age and development, program/instruction, engagement of the assessment, motivation, and so on…
We are not able to analyze growth using scale scores this year. The scales are not comparable. We can convert proficiency levels from 2016 to the new scale to determine whether or not students made progress. WIDA’s online score lookup calculator gives us this information.
As you always have, you will continue to identify and build on students’ strengths using ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 scores.

8. Score Lookup Calculator at www.wida.us/proficiency
Comparing 2016 and 2017 Scores
Optional Slide: it may be helpful to talk about 2016 and 2017 scores using a metaphor. When two things are too different to meaningfully compare, we say “it’s like comparing apples and oranges.” This is true with the 2016 and 2017 ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 test scores. If our students’ scores decreased but we aren’t sure why, it’s a good idea to enter the student’s 2016 scores into the calculator. After using the calculator, you’ll be able to look at apples and apples to make comparisions. In other words, the score lookup calculator will allow you to determine whether or not your students made progress because you’ll be looking at both year’s test results on the same score scale.
Score Lookup Calculator at

9. Score Lookup Calculator www.wida.us/proficiency
Converts 2016 scores to the new scale so that you can meaningfully compare them with 2017 results.
Helps you interpret or explain in situations where a student's scores look different than expected.
Does not allow us to determine if a student made adequate progress, only whether they made any progress.
Expectations for how much growth was adequate from the past are no longer valid. The test and scores have changed too much.
After first bullet, you could give an example:
Example: Priyanka’s overall score was reported as a 4.0 in 2016 but once converted, it was a 3.6. In 2017, she earned a 3.9.
After second bullet, continue the example:
Good news! Even though her score appeared to decrease from 4.0 to 3.9, after using the calculator, we can see that Priyanka made progress from 3.6 to 3.9.
After third bullet, complete the example.
Previously, we targeted growth of .5 PL for Priyanka, but we can’t assume that is reasonable. We will start fresh on charting her growth going forward.
I encourage you to read through the FAQ document on the webpage before using the Score Lookup Calculator.

10. 3rd grade reported proficiency level
Example Student: Yelena
Domain or Composite
3rd grade reported proficiency level
4th grade reported PL
Listening
4.0
3.9
Speaking
3.5
4.1
Reading
2.8
2.3
Writing
4.2
Overall Composite
3.7
It appears that Yelena did not perform as well in Listening or Reading this year as she did last year. But we need to take this year’s score changes into account. This year’s test scoring is more rigorous, so let’s see what last year’s scores would have been with that same rigor applied.

11. 3rd grade reported proficiency level
Example Student: Yelena
Domain or Composite
3rd grade reported proficiency level
3rd grade adjusted PL
4th grade reported PL
Listening
4.0
3.8
3.9
Speaking
3.5
4.1
Reading
2.8
2.0
2.3
Writing
4.2
Overall Composite
3.7
What we see here is that Yelena’s scores in Listening and Reading last year were reported higher. If we adjust them to the new score scale using the online score lookup calculator, we see that Yelena actually did perform better on the test this year than last year in all four domains. We should still look for her strengths and growth opportunities to set goals for her instruction, but we don’t need to worry that she is losing ground.

12. 10th grade reported proficiency level
Example Student: Marwan
Domain or Composite
10th grade reported proficiency level
11th grade reported PL
Listening
5.3
5.2
Speaking
4.2
3.7
Reading
5.1
4.5
Writing
4.6
Overall Composite
4.8
4.4
Now let’s look at Marwan, an older student. His teachers saw last year that Marwan was very close to meeting his state’s criteria for program exit, and have been encouraging him to focus on his Speaking and Writing skills this year in hopes of preparing him for success in the mainstream classroom without ELL support. Marwan was very hopeful about this year’s test results, so after seeing his 2017 score report, his teachers prepared for a difficult conversation that they knew would disappoint Marwan. They wondered what happened: were his 10th grade scores higher than they should’ve been for his actual proficiency? Did he have a hard time with the Speaking test this year, despite all of their efforts? And Marwan had always been strong in Reading…what happened?

13. 10th grade reported proficiency level
Example Student: Marwan
Domain or Composite
10th grade reported proficiency level
10th grade adjusted PL
11th grade reported PL
Listening
5.3
5.1
5.2
Speaking
4.2
3.7
Reading
4.5
Writing
4.6
Overall Composite
4.8
4.4
After adjusting his 10th grade scores using the online score lookup calculator, we see that Marwan held steady or gained proficiency in every domain. This just means that the shifting educational climate toward higher expectations means that Marwan could probably benefit from staying in the ELL program throughout his senior year to ensure he can meet his goals for college and career. His teachers can continue with many of the same goals they had for Marwan.

14. FAQs
Q: What is the average change in score? A: This varies! Q: Which domain(s) are most impacted? A: Speaking, followed by Reading and Writing. Listening was minimally impacted. Q: Which students are most impacted? A: Higher grade levels and higher proficiency levels.
Responses are in general, for all students.
This will depend on the grade and proficiency levels of students, as well as how they perform on this year’s test.
2. This does vary by grade level. Some grade levels had bigger adjustments to certain domains than others.
3. Scores that would have been 6.0 are now closer to 5.0 in many cases. College and career readiness may require more support so we know students are ready.

15. Takeaways to Consider and Discuss
Look across your students for any whose scores might require any additional attention.
At your grade level(s), do you notice any consistent themes (like one particular domain changed a lot)?
Did anyone have notable decreases in scores?
Were any nearing program exit but did not meet the criteria?
What does this mean for you as a teacher? For your program? For your district?
The score lookup calculator will help you analyze each of your students’ scores how I just did with Yelena and Marwan so you can still see whether or not they made progress.
Who should you plan to meet with to discuss this information? What initiatives are you involved in that might be impacted?

16. Impact on ELL Identification and Exit
The WIDA Screener (paper and online) was designed using the new score scale.
The W-APT and WIDA MODEL have not been updated.
Students who recently exited program support (2016 or earlier on the old score scale) should be carefully monitored.
Optional slide if you want to discuss your procedures for placement and exit. Please customize with local assessments used and/or policies for reclassification.
Make sure to monitor students’ academic content test scores and classroom performance if they either were not placed in program using the W-APT or MODEL, or if they recently exited. Refer to your state education agency for guidance on how to handle redesignation of any students who you identify as possibly needing program support.

17. 2017 Score Changes Resources
Educator Materials
Student Materials
Parent/Family Materials
Score Lookup Calculator
Flyers on screen: Overview flyer, Understanding Your Child’s 2017 ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 Scores, Getting Students Ready for Testing
Resources include a video, webinars, PowerPoints, flyers, and more.

18. Where to Find Information & Resources

19. Questions & Answers Thank you!
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Teacher and administrator handouts available. You may want to print some to distribute at the presentation:
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