Rhode Island is a member of the World Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) Consortium. WIDA is a consortium of twenty states dedicated to the design and implementation of high standards and equitable educational opportunities for English language learners. As a member of the WIDA Consortium, Rhode Island utilizes the ACCESS for ELLs^® to annually measure the English language proficiency (ELP) of ELLs across the state. The ACCESS for ELLs^® was developed by the Center for Applied Linguistics in collaboration with the WIDA Consortium. The ACCESS for ELLs^® is aligned to the WIDA Summative English Language Proficiency Standards and has been accepted by the United States Department of Education as a valid and reliable assessment of English proficiency. Rhode Island requires that the ELP of all ELLs be measured annually with the ACCESS for ELLs^®. For more information on how the results of this assessment are used for accountability purposes, please click here.

Districts in Rhode Island utilize the W-APT (WIDA Access Placement Test) to screen the English language proficiency of newly enrolling students identified as potential ELLs. This screening tool is aligned to the WIDA Summative ELPS and the ACCESS for ELLs^®. It produces a proficiency score that helps schools provide ELL students with the most appropriate instruction for their English proficiency level.

Below are information and resources to help educators in the administration of the assessments and the interpretation of the results.