EL WIDA Testing Update

Since school closures due to COVID-19 occurred during the spring 2020 WIDA ACCESS assessment window, the Tennessee State Board of Education approved three options for students to exit EL services. The three options approved for exit are:

1. Students who completed all four domains of the WIDA ACCESS assessment shall exit by current criteria.

2. Students who have completed one, two, or three of the four domains of the WIDA ACCESS assessment shall exit based on a score the Tennessee Department of Education shall calculate.

3. Students who have not completed any domains of the WIDA ACCESS assessment shall exit based on a rubric developed by the Tennessee Department of Education.

The MNPS EL department sent an email on Friday, 5/15/20, to schools that have EL students who have not completed any of the four parts of the WIDA ACCESS assessment. If a student completed even one part of the assessment, nothing else needs to be done for that student.

For students who did not complete any part of the WIDA ACCESS assessment, EL teachers will need to conduct a virtual exit meeting with the ELA and core content teachers to complete the state EL rubric and determine if a student needs to continue EL or exit EL services. The deadline to complete the EL rubrics is July 31, 2020.

The MNPS EL department is willing to help teachers get the EL rubrics completed. They cannot do the rubrics for EL teachers because they do not have the data needed for each individual student, but they are willing to offer any support and guidance necessary to help with this task. If you have questions or need any assistance, please reach out to Molly Stovall, Executive Director of English Learners, at molly.stovall@mnps.org.

https://tinyurl.com/TNWIDA

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