WIDA English Language Development Standards
The WIDA English Language Development Standards describe the academic English multilingual learners need to participate in school and show what they know in content classes. The WIDA Consortium, based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, publishes the standards. Forty-two states, territories, and federal agencies belong to the consortium and use WIDA together with the annual ACCESS test. The current version is the 2020 Edition. Its four main components are ELD Standards Statements, Key Language Uses, Language Expectations, and Proficiency Level Descriptors.
- PreK-12 ELD
- 2020 Edition
- 42 consortium members
- WIDA Consortium
The everyday English students need to navigate school.
Academic English for the ELA classroom.
Academic English for math.
Academic English for science.
Academic English for social studies.
WIDA standards are not one checklist of English skills by grade. They are a framework for describing the academic English multilingual learners use in school.
WIDA starts by naming the school setting: classroom routines, language arts, math, science, or social studies. These are the five ELD Standards Statements. Then it names the purpose for language: narrating, informing, explaining, or arguing. These are the Key Language Uses.
Those pieces become Language Expectations: goal statements for what students should be able to do with language at a grade level or grade band. Proficiency Level Descriptors show how that language may grow from Entering to Reaching.
- ELD Standards Statements (5)
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- Social and Instructional Language
- Language for Language Arts
- Language for Mathematics
- Language for Science
- Language for Social Studies
- Key Language Uses (4)
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- Narrate
- Inform
- Explain
- Argue
- Proficiency Level Descriptors (6)
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- Entering
- Emerging
- Developing
- Expanding
- Bridging
- Reaching
ELD-MA.4-5.Explain.Expressive └──┬─┘ └┬┘ └──┬──┘ └───┬──── │ │ │ └── communication mode │ │ └─────────── Key Language Use │ └────────────────── grade-level cluster └─────────────────────── ELD Standard (MA = Mathematics)
Read this as a grades 4-5 mathematics Language Expectation where students explain in expressive communication, such as speaking, writing, or representing. Proficiency Level Descriptors then show how that language may look at each WIDA level.
WIDA grew out of the Wisconsin-Delaware-Arkansas state collaboration in the early 2000s. The original aim was practical. No Child Left Behind required every state to assess English learners every year, and most states did not have a standards-based system to build that test on. The Wisconsin Center for Education Research built one and licensed it to other states. Within a decade, WIDA had become the largest English-language proficiency consortium in the United States.
The 2020 Edition is the biggest update in WIDA's history. It pulls the standards closer to content-area instruction and asks teachers to plan around what students do with language (narrate a story, inform a reader, explain a process, argue a position), not just around discrete grammar or vocabulary skills. The four Key Language Uses are the most visible change. The Can Do Descriptors remain a practical companion, though WIDA says they have not yet been updated to fully reflect the 2020 Edition.
WIDA is a content standard for English Language Arts.
No. WIDA is a language development standard. It describes the academic English students need to access ELA, math, science, and social studies content. It is meant to sit alongside your state's content standards, not in place of them.
WIDA replaces my content instruction.
WIDA gives teachers a way to describe what language a multilingual learner can produce at each proficiency level. It does not replace your content standards. A grade 5 multilingual learner is still working toward grade 5 math content. WIDA helps you scaffold the language so they can show what they know.
A student at the Reaching level no longer needs support.
Reaching is the top of the WIDA scale, but it does not mean the student needs no language support. Many districts reclassify students before they hit Reaching in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The level is a point on a developmental scale, not a final destination.
Only ESL teachers use WIDA.
All content teachers in a member state should be using WIDA. The ESL teacher is the specialist. The classroom teacher is the one delivering content-area instruction every day. Both planning together is the design intent.
Which states belong to the WIDA Consortium?
WIDA lists 42 member states, territories, and federal agencies. Non-WIDA states use their own English-language proficiency standards. California's ELPAC and Texas's TELPAS are the two largest non-WIDA systems.
What changed in the 2020 Edition?
The 2020 Edition introduced the four Key Language Uses (Narrate, Inform, Explain, Argue) and reorganized the standards around genres of academic language. It also tightened the connection between WIDA expectations and content-area performance.
How is WIDA different from the ACCESS test?
WIDA is the standards framework. ACCESS for ELLs is the annual test built on those standards. A member state uses WIDA to plan instruction and uses ACCESS scores to make reclassification decisions.
Can a non-member district use WIDA materials?
Yes, with a license from WIDA. The annual ACCESS test is restricted to consortium members.
How do WIDA proficiency levels map to common content-classroom expectations?
Loosely. A student at Entering or Emerging needs heavy scaffolding to access grade-level content. A student at Bridging or Reaching can usually participate in grade-level discussions with targeted vocabulary support. The Can Do Descriptors give more practical examples of what students can do at each level.
- Multilingual learner (ML)
- The WIDA term for a student who is developing English alongside other languages. Replaces older terms like ELL and LEP.
- ELD Standards Statement
- One of five broad statements that connect language development to school contexts: social and instructional language, language arts, math, science, and social studies.
- Grade-Level Cluster
- The grade band the expectation is written for, such as grades 4-5 or grades 6-8.
- Key Language Use
- One of four major things students do with academic language: Narrate, Inform, Explain, or Argue.
- Communication Mode
- How language is used in a Language Expectation. Interpretive includes listening, reading, and viewing; expressive includes speaking, writing, and representing.
- Language Expectation
- A WIDA goal statement for what students should be able to do with language in a grade-level cluster, Key Language Use, and communication mode.
- Proficiency Level
- One of six developmental levels (Entering, Emerging, Developing, Expanding, Bridging, Reaching).
- Can Do Descriptors
- Companion resource with classroom-ready descriptions of what a student can do at each level. WIDA says these have not yet been updated to fully reflect the 2020 Edition.
- ACCESS for ELLs
- The annual WIDA proficiency test, used by member states for Title III reporting.
- WIDA Screener
- The initial English proficiency screener used to identify new multilingual learners.
- 1
2002: World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment
A consortium of three states (Wisconsin, Delaware, Arkansas) wins a federal Enhanced Assessment Grant to build a new English-language proficiency standards system and test. The WIDA name comes from the original grant.
- 2
2004: First WIDA standards
The WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards are released. The original ACCESS test follows.
- 3
2007 and 2012: Editions 2 and 3
WIDA publishes two updated editions. The 2012 Edition introduces the five content-area standards in their modern form and the six-level proficiency scale.
- 4
December 2020: 2020 Edition
WIDA publishes the 2020 Edition, organized around four Key Language Uses (Narrate, Inform, Explain, Argue). The new edition tightens the link between language development and content-area instruction.
- 5
Today
42 states, territories, and federal agencies belong to the WIDA Consortium. Member states administer ACCESS for ELLs annually to identified multilingual learners.
- Publisher
- WIDA Consortium, hosted at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
- First released
- 2004 (English Language Proficiency Standards).
- Current version
- 2020 Edition (released December 2020). Prior editions: 2007, 2012.
- Subjects covered
- Academic English across five ELD Standards Statements: Social and Instructional Language, Language for Language Arts, Language for Mathematics, Language for Science, and Language for Social Studies.
- Grade range
- PreK-12, organized into grade-level clusters: PreK-K, 1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8, 9-12.
- Adoption
- 42 states, territories, and federal agencies belong to the WIDA Consortium.
- Legal status
- WIDA's ACCESS test is used by member states to meet Every Student Succeeds Act (Title III) requirements for English learner identification and reclassification.
- Companion frameworks
- ACCESS for ELLs (annual proficiency test), WIDA Screener (initial identification), WIDA MODEL, and the WIDA Can Do Descriptors.
- License
- Available to member states through consortium membership. Non-member districts can license the materials from WIDA.