EP225 — WIDA Standards Explained: What They Actually Mean for Your ELL Classroom

[upbeat music] Teaching ELL students is a privilege and a joy. Is it easy? No way. But with the right support, you can feel empowered to tackle each day with ease and confidence. I'm your host, Beth Boucher, founder of Inspiring Young Learners. With over 10 years of teaching both nationally and internationally, I know what it takes to ensure that your ELL students have what they need to thrive today, tomorrow, and for life. I'm on a mission to empower you to equip your English language learners. Welcome to Equipping ELLs. Let's get to today's episode. [upbeat music] Hey there, and welcome back to another episode of the Equipping ELLs podcast. My name is Beth Boucher, and I am so honored that you are joining me today. I wanna start this episode with something I think that a lot of ELL teachers are going to recognize. Maybe you have been handed the WIDA Can Do Descriptors, maybe in a new teacher orientation, or maybe in a professional development session, or maybe your instructional coach printed them out and put them in your mailbox with a sticky note that said, "Use these for planning." And you looked at them, maybe nodded, maybe even opened the document a few times, and then they went into a drawer or a folder on your desktop, and you never actually opened them again. And if that is your experience with WIDA, I want you to know two things. First, you are not alone. Second, it is not your fault, because WIDA as a framework is genuinely valuable. The Can Do Descriptors are actually one of the most useful planning tools available to ELL teachers. Even if you are not in a WIDA state, they're extremely valuable. But the way most teachers are introduced to them, maybe in a single PD session or just handed them without any context and without a clear connection to what they are supposed to do on a Monday morning, almost guarantees that they end up in a drawer or collecting dust on your shelf. So today I want to get them out of the drawer. And a quick note before I get into it. If your state does not use WIDA, you might be using ELPAC in California, or TELPAS in Texas, or ELPA21, or AZELLA in Arizona or another state-specific framework. Everything I share today applies to your standards too. The approach is exactly the same, so just swap in your state's framework as I talk through WIDA, and at the end of this episode, I have a free resource coming your way that works regardless of which framework your state uses. All right, let's get into this. First, let me give you a quick grounding on what WIDA actually is before we talk about how to use it, because I think a lot of the confusion starts with not fully understanding what you are working with. WIDA stands for World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment. It is a consortium of states, which is currently around 40 states plus DC, that have adopted a shared set of English language development standards and the ACCESS for ELLs assessment. If your district gives the ACCESS test, you are in a WIDA state. WIDA has two main products that ELL teachers interact with, the ACCESS test, which is the annual assessment most of your students take each winter or spring that produces the proficiency level scores