1. The WIDA ELP Standards and Formative Assessment
Mariana Castro
Professional Development

2. Goal
This presentation will examine how the WIDA ELP Standards can be utilized in formative assessment.
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3. Agenda Academic language and the WIDA ELP Standards
Assessment of academic language through Formative Assessment
WIDA tools that can be used during Formative Assessment
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4. Academic Language and the WIDA ELP Standards
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5. What is Academic Language?
Academic language proficiency refers to the abilities to construct meaning from oral and written language, relate complex ideas and information, recognize features of different genres, and use various linguistic strategies to communicate
Dutro & Moran (2003)
What is Academic Language?
What does it mean to
Construct meaning from oral and written language
Relate complex ideas and information
Recognize features of different genres
Use various linguistic strategies to communicate?
Providing Access to Academic Achievement Through Language Development

6. Academic Language and the WIDA ELP Standards
Grade level Cluster
Language Domain
English Language Proficiency Level
Model Performance Indicator
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7. Academic Language and the WIDA ELP Standards
The model performance indicator shows examples of language expectations at different levels of language proficiency across different domains and ELP standards
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8. Academic Language and the WIDA ELP Standards
The elements of academic language are implicit in the performance indicator
What elements of academic language are needed to “describe”?
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9. To describe, the language needed is…
A paragraph or set of related sentences
Objects of earth or sky, adjectives
Correct placement of words depending on their function
This is just a short list…
the language elements to describe are endless depending on the communicative context. The language elements are targeted according the task and student needs.
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10. In short… describe the academic language expected
need to be contextualized in the content itself and the learners
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11. Assessment of Academic Language through Formative Assessment
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12. What is Formative Assessment?
Formative assessment is a process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve intended instructional outcomes
(CCSSO FAST SCASS, 2006).
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13. A process Language targets appropriate for students and content
Assessment tasks that elicit language targeted (these happen during instruction)
Assessment tools to record observations of student production or comprehension of language targeted
Feedback system to translate feedback into actual modifications to teaching and learning
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14. Identifying the language
The language assessed should be the language taught; in other words, the language identified in your language objectives
Linguistic Complexity: A paragraph or set of related sentences
Vocabulary: Objects of earth or sky (sun, Earth, Mars, Jupiter); adjectives (close to, far from)
Language Control: comparatives (_er than, more than); superlatives (the _est; the most _)

15. Assessment Tasks should…
take place during instruction
be authentic and relevant to the content
elicit the academic language being targeted
Examples: academic discussion in small/large groups, presentation of research findings, debates, interview with students, posters, brochures, drafts, projects, activities
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16. Assessment Task What task will elicit the language you wish
Linguistic Complexity: A paragraph or set of related sentences
Vocabulary: Objects of earth or sky (sun, Earth, Mars, Jupiter); adjectives (close to, far from)
Language Control: comparatives (_er than, more than); superlatives (the _est; the most _)
Students work in groups to prepare a poster showing the relationship between objects of the earth or sky. Teacher will observe groups as they work together and listen to/observe language produced in poster draft.
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17. Assessment Tool
The difference between formal and informal formative assessment is that in formal formative assessment there is a record of the performance
Examples: checklists, rating scale, rubric (holistic, analytic, mixed)
Your selection of tools should take into consideration the language you want to assess and the assessment task
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18. Checklist Advantages Limitations
Useful for marking whether the student has mastered the language feature or not
Simple to make and use
Useful in communicating with students, parents and/ or teachers
Do not describe the range or quality of performance
Name ___ Date ___
__ I used complete sentences
__ My sentences were organized in a paragraph
__ I used key words for the unit: Sun, Earth…
__ I used words that described distance: close, far
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19. Rating Scale Advantages Limitations
Provides more information as to the degree to which the student has mastered a language feature
Simple to make and use
Useful in communicating with students, parents and/ or teachers
Can be hard to decide what level to give the specific performance
Name: __ Date: ___
Always Most of Some of Never
the time the time
Used complete sentences
Paragraph had a topic sentence
Used comparatives and superlatives correctly
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20. Rubrics
Holistic Rubrics assign a single score to a set of performance criteria
Analytic Rubrics separate scores to various criteria
Advantages: fixed scales with descriptions of performance at different levels
Limitations: Time consuming, hard to develop and use.
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21. The WIDA Performance Definitions are an example of a holistic rubric
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22. The WIDA Speaking Rubric is an example of an analytic rubric
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23. Remember!
The checklist, rating scale or rubric are not formative assessment
The activity you choose to elicit language is the assessment task, but not the formative assessment
Formative assessment is a process and includes these elements, but its most important feature is what you do after you gather the information: you use it to guide your teaching and learning!
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24. Using Feedback To adjust teacher’s instruction
To adjust student’s learning
To shift classroom classroom
To implement schoolwide
Popham, 2008
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25. Teachers’ Instructional Adjustment
Formative assessment helps teachers decide if they need to adjust what they are currently doing or what they plan to do next instructionally
In order to do this, teacher must
decide when it is a good time to make a decision
follow formative assessment process
establish what level in student performance will necessitate instructional adjustment, and
make the necessary adjustment
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26. Example:
Chee Meng is a student from Laos who is in second grade. His ELP levels are: listening 4, speaking 3, reading 3, and writing 2.
Chee Meng’s teacher, Ms. Mancilla, is teaching a unit on Space. She would like her students to describe the relationships between the planets in the solar system.
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27. Language Target
One of the activities in class will be to have students, in groups of three, create a poster of the solar system and describe in an oral presentation the relation between the different planets and the sun and the planets and the earth.
She would like Chee Meng to write complete sentences describing the relationships between the planets.
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28. Formative Assessment Process
Language targets: complete sentences; unit vocabulary: sun, names of planets, solar system; use of comparatives and superlatives
Assessment task: writing sentences on index cards as they prepare to present their poster
Assessment tool: Rating scale (derived from WIDA ELP Writing Rubric)
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29. Chee Meng’s Writing ELP level
WIDA Writing Rubric
Chee Meng’s Writing ELP level
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30. Focus on i+1 level and then transform into a rating scale
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31. Assessment Tool
Always Most of Some of Never
the time the time
Linguistic Complexity: Simple and expanded oral sentences
Complete sentences (subject, verb, complement)
Vocabulary Usage: General and some specific language related to the content area
Sentences include the names of solar system objects
Language Control: Use of syntactic language structures
Uses closer to/farthest from correctly
Ms. Mancilla has decided that she would like Chee Meng to meet the criteria in the rating scale at least
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32. Feedback
The record will help Ms. Mancilla provide feedback to Chee Meng, and communicate with other educators, Chee-Meng’s parents and other stakeholders.
Ms. Mancilla can keep some criteria for future instruction or modify it as well as the focus of her instruction if Chee Meng still needs to work on one or two criteria.
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33. Questions or Comments?
For more information, please contact the WIDA Help Desk: or
© 2010 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, on behalf of the WIDA Consortium