English Language Proficiency Assessments

The use of the WIDA Alternate Screener is limited, and participation decisions must be made by the student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) team prior to testing. English Language Development (ELD) teams will need timely collaboration and support from IEP teams to determine whether newly enrolling students meet the 3-part eligibility criteria for this assessment: 1) has a current IEP from any U.S. state or outlying territory, and 2) is formally identified with an Intellectual Disability and has the Most Significant Cognitive Disability (MSCD), and 3) receives instruction aligned to the Alternate Academic Achievement Standards (In Colorado: Extended Evidence Outcomes [EEOs]). When all three participation criteria are verified, the CLDE team will proceed to administer the WIDA Alternate Screener in lieu of the general WIDA Screener. Districts and schools should make every effort to identify potential MLs as soon as possible to provide timely support for students with a disability who may need language services in addition to specially designed instruction as outlined in their IEP. Section 3113(b)(2) of the ESEA requires that all students, including students with a documented IEP to be assessed for ML identification within 30 days at the beginning of the school year or within the first two weeks when enrolling after Student October Count. Online training modules will be available beginning April 2026 in the WIDA Secure Portal. A Test Administrator (TA) who has completed the required WIDA training modules and certification quiz is the only person permitted to administer this assessment and score student responses. Once logged in, select Assessment Training and launch WIDA Alternate Screener: Administration and Scoring course and review the Test Administrator Manual (TAM) before giving the test. Student test booklets, the TAM and TA Scripts can all be downloaded at no cost from the WIDA Secure Portal.

Colorado will not adopt the WIDA Alternate Screener during SY25-26. During this school year, CDE plans to collect data, review test materials, and develop a decision criterion in order to set cut point guidance for use in the 2026-2027 school year. This new assessment will be used to measure English language proficiency for students identified with the most significant cognitive disabilities who qualify for instruction under the Extended Evidence Outcomes (EEOs). It is a flexible, paper-based, on-demand assessment that can be administered at any time during the school year. This assessment anchored in the WIDA English Language Development Standards assesses each of the four language domains: Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing. All domains will be scored by the test administrator and entered into the WIDA Alternate Screener score calculator in order to generate a report of the student’s test performance. WIDA Alternate Screener should only be administered to incoming students in grades K-12 who already have a formal IEP from the 50 states and outlying territories to help determine whether students are in fact Multilingual Learners (MLs) who qualify for Language Instruction Educational Programs (LIEPs). In addition, CDE anticipates that this new assessment could be appropriate for potential MLs who have been identified with the most significant cognitive disabilities, receive instruction under the EEOs, and currently participate in the alternate state content assessments. 

A new guidance document details WIDA’s recommendations for IEP/504 Plan teams to consider when administering WIDA Screener to a student who is blind or visually impaired (BVI), or who is deaf or hard of hearing (DHH). It includes general administration guidance, specific considerations for students who are BVI or DHH and a short list of resources for more information. Find this resource in the WIDA Secure Portal when filtering resources by Accessibility and Accommodations or any screener assessment.

Colorado will continue to administer W-APT to kindergarten and 1st semester first grade students during SY21-22. The full transition and requirement for districts to administer WIDA Screener Kindergarten will start SY22-23. WIDA Screener for Kindergarten is a new individually administered paper-and-pencil test that helps educators identify students as Multilingual Learners (MLs) in Kindergarten and 1st semester first grade. CDE will not be providing cut scores to align to Colorado English language proficiency levels at this time. During SY21-22 the Office of CLDE will collect data to set cut point guidance to be disseminated for use in SY22-23. Additionally, CLDE anticipates to provide supplemental test administration training in the Spring of 2022 after cut point data is collected and guidance is developed and disseminated.

WIDA has decided to retire the Kindergarten W-APT assessment at the end of school year 21-22. W-APT training and assessment materials will be removed from the WIDA Secure Portal on June 30, 2022, and the assessment will no longer be supported. The Screener for Kindergarten Training Tile in WIDA’s Secure Portal was activated on May 1, 2021 for LEAs to begin to explore assessment materials and to prepare for test administration next year. Districts and schools should also be reviewing training modules & test certification quizzes and other information related to the Screener for Kindergarten during SY21-22. CDE will not be suppling assessment kits. Student and test administrator materials can be downloaded at no cost or can be purchased through the WIDA Store.