ACCESS for ELLs™ - Entry and Exit Criteria on W-APT Kindergarten Test

Bilingual Education
Bureau of Bilingual/ESL Education
» Bilingual Home «

ACCESS for ELLs™ »ELLs Home

Entry and Exit Criteria on W-APT

The WIDA-ACCESS Placement Test (W-APT)™ is an adaptive test that can gauge students’ proficiency up to and beyond level 5 of the WIDA ELP Standards. Like ACCESS for ELLs ®, there are five grade level clusters (Kindergarten, 1-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12). Unlike the ACCESS for ELLS ®, all scoring of the W-APT is completed on site by the test administrator. All sections of the test are scored as the test is administered. After completion of the Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing, the Test Administrator will use the instructions on the scoring sheet to calculate the students’ overall Proficiency Level.

Grades 1-12

The regulation mandating the use of multiple criteria for identifying and exiting students from language assistance programs services is still required. For students in grades 1 through 12, a W-APT proficiency level of 4.5 or higher is recommended for exiting a program if multiple criteria support the decision.

Kindergarten

The Kindergarten test is organized into parts (A through E), each progressively more difficult. If the student successfully completes a part (e.g., A) they move on to the next part. The score sheet indicates the criteria for successful completion and will indicate how far the student progresses in the adaptive administration. For example to successfully complete part D of the Listening and Speaking exam, a student must answer at least 3 questions correctly in Part A, 3 questions correctly in Part B, 3 questions correctly in Part C, and 4 questions correctly in Part D.

The W-APT may be used to help determine eligibility of a kindergarten student for language assistance or to help identify when a student is able to exit a language assistance program. Eligibility may be determined at any time during the school year. However, the Reading and Writing sections of the W-APT test are only appropriate during the second half of the Kindergarten year.

For example, eligibility for language assistance program services for a student tested in September is contingent on students NOT successfully completing any Parts A, B, and C of the Listening and Speaking Test. If a student is tested in February, the student will take the Listening and Speaking, Reading and Writing tests. If the student does not successfully complete the appropriate parts in any one of the three tests, the student is eligible for language assistance. Districts should consider other indicators in making their placement decision.

To exit a language assistance program a student is expected to meet the criteria in all three test sections. The following chart demonstrates the standards for program entry and exit in kindergarten

	Eligibility for Language Assistance Kindergarten		Exit Language Assistance
Test Section	Administered Before January 1 of the School Year	Administered After January 1 of the School Year	Administered at the End of Kindergarten
Listening and Speaking	Does not successfully complete parts A, B, C, and D	Does not successfully complete parts A, B, C, and D OR	Successfully complete parts A, B, C, and D AND answer at least 3 questions correctly in Part E AND
Reading		Does not successfully complete parts A, B, and C OR	Successfully complete parts A, B, C, and D AND
Writing		Does not successfully complete parts A, B, and C	Successfully complete parts A, B, C, and D