W-APT

WIDA-ACCESS Placement Test

What is the relationship between the WIDA-ACCESS Placement Test (W-APT) and the English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards and why is this relationship so valuable to teachers of English Language Learning (ELL) students?

The Assessment & It’s Relationship to the ELP Standards

The W-APT is designed to test the English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards for English Language Learners in Kindergarten through Grade 12 of the multi-state WIDA Consortium and therefore, each test and test item is constructed to align with the five ELP Standards. The W-APT tests students’ speaking, reading, listening and writing proficiency in the areas of Social & Instructional Language, Language of Language Arts, Language of Mathematics, Language of Science, and Language of Social Studies. The W-APT is used to examine and determine what services each English Language Learner would benefit from.

The W-APT is aligned with the Following 5 ELP Standards:

English language learners communicate…

· in English for Social and Instructional purposes within the school setting

· information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of Language Arts.

· communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of Mathematics

· information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of Science

· information, ideas

Importance in the Classroom

A teacher of ELL students can use the results of this assessment to gage each student’s proficiency in each of the five English Language Proficiency Content Standards. Using the results, the teacher can tailor her lessons to be sure the needs of each individual student will be met. A pull-out teacher or ESL resource room teacher will know the degree to which each student is proficient in each of the five areas and thus will be able to use his/her time with each student to work with them toward proficiency in each area.

References

Kenyon, D., MacGregor, D., Ryu, J., Cho, B., & Louguit, M. (2006, December 4). Annual Technical Report for ACCESS for ELLs® English Language Proficiency Test, Series 100, 2004-2005 Administratio. WIDA Consortium. Retrieved February 18, 2012, from www.wida.us/assessment/ACCESS/TechReports/1%20Tech%20Rpt%201%20Series%20100.pdf