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Using ACCESS for ELLS ® Data to Inform Instruction

Presenter: Margot DownsWIDA Certified Consultant

ACCESS for ELLs®, W-APT™, and ELP Standards Trainer

May 2, 2011Maine Department of Education ESL/Bilingual

Programs Professional development online webinar

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Resources

• Interpretive Guide for Score Reports 2011 http://www.wida.us/assessment/ACCESS/index.aspx

• WIDA Focus Bulletinshttp://www.wida.us/resources/index.asp(Formative Assessment Bulletin)

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Minh

a454 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

• US Born

• Linguistic background: Vietnamese

• 6th grade

Year Grd L L S S R R W W C C

2011 6 4.9 378 6.0 405 3.8 356 4.4 373 4.7 373

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ACCESS for ELLs®• As with all assessments, a test score should be

considered one of multiple criteria in making educational decisions.

• ACCESS for ELLs® data is a starting point for teacher planning, collaboration, and differentiation.

• Opportunities to look for patterns in language development from the individual to the district level

• ACCESS for ELLs® should be part of a balanced assessment system which incorporates formative, interim, and summative assessments based on standards and learning targets.

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Types of Scores

• Raw Scores• Scale Scores• Proficiency Level Scores

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Raw Scores• The actual number of items/tasks correct out of total number

of items/tasks• Use these scores with caution! Very rough indicator of

student performance and not appropriate to make generalizations or track student growth

Example from Teacher Report (Writing)

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Scale Scores

• The scale scores allow raw scores across grades and tiers to be compared on a single vertical scale K-12 within a single domain

Year Grd L L S S R R W W C C

2011 6 4.9 378 6.0 405 3.8 356 4.4 373 4.7 373

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Proficiency Level Scores• These scores are an interpretation of scale

scores• Whole number = proficiency level based on WIDA ELP

Standards• Decimal =proportion within proficiency level, not an

interval

Year Grd L L S S R R W W C C

2011 6 4.9 378 6.0 405 3.8 356 4.4 373 4.7 373

Composite Score: 15% Listening, 15% Speaking, 35% Reading, 35% Writing

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Proficiency Level Scores

Grade Scale Score Proficiency Level

5th 303 2.04th 303 2.43rd 303 3.0

Interpretation of scale scores to proficiency level is grade specific.

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Confidence Bands (Teacher Report)

Graphic representation of Standard Error of Measurement. This reminds test users that a single test score represents a range of possible outcomes and should never be interpreted as the only possible outcome (95% probability that the average score if a student took the test multiple times would fall within the Confidence Band).

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Starting Point for Collaborative Conversations

www.sedl.org

When making determinations on instruction and language programming, examining individual

student performance in each domain provides a more comprehensive profile.

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Writing Rubric

What does her writing look like in the content areas?Is she being provided with explicit language instruction

to support writing in the various content areas?

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Can Do Descriptors (6-8 writing)

Level 4 Expanding Level 5 Bridging

• Create multiple-paragraph essays• Justify ideas • Produce content-related reports • Use details/examples to support ideas • Use transition words to create cohesive passages • Compose intro/body/conclusion• Paraphrase or summarize text • Take notes (e.g., for research)

• Create expository text to explain graphs/charts• Produce research reports using multiple sources/ citations• Begin using analogies • Critique literary essays or articles

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WIDA ELP StandardsStandard 4: Science

Domain: Writing(model performance indicators)

Level 4 Expanding Level 5 Bridging

Explain uses of different forms of energy depicted visually (eg. ___ is used to ___.)

Evaluate and defend uses of different forms of energy (e.g.; “I think solar energy is most efficient because…”

Integration with other language skills (transformations)

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MinhYear Grd L L S S R R W W C C

2011 6 4.9 378 6.0 405 3.8 356 4.4 373 4.7 373

2010 5 5.3 375 6.0 403 3.3 334 4.9 376 4.8 365

2009 4 5.6 371 4.8 365 3.4 324 4.2 346 4.3 345

• NECAP, NWEA, Running Records, Grades• Long Term ELL • Need to integrate explicit academic language instruction in daily core instruction

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Samira (Somali) Foreign Born

Year Grd L L S S R R W W C C

2011 4 6 412 3.9 347 6.0 404 4.5 356 6.0 382

2010 3 5.8 362 6.0 403 6.0 355 4.7 351 5.7 362

2009 2 5.0 324 2.3 297 5.0 312 2.7 273 3.3 298

2008 1 4.0 295 6.0 420 2.5 260 2.7 260 3.5 289

Communicating with Parents• Parent Report• Concrete examples of student work

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Thank you!