ACCESS for ELLs™ - Criteria for Tier Placement

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Criteria for Tier Placement

WIDA Consortium

Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State to State
for English Language Learners (ACCESS for ELLs™)

Criteria for Tier Placement for the English Language Proficiency Test

ACCESS for ELLs™ uses Tiers (A, B, or C) to maximize accuracy and validity of the results for English language learners in grades 1 through 12. For placement into the appropriate Tier, English language learners must meet at least ONE of the criteria listed for the Tier

English Language Proficiency Levels
Level 1 Entering	Level 2 Beginning		Level 3 Developing		Level 4 Expanding	Level 5 Bridging	Level 6 Attained
ACCESS for ELLs^™: TIER A

		ACCESS for ELLs^™: TIER B

				ACCESS for ELLs^™: TIER C

TIER A is most appropriate for English language learners who: have arrived in the U.S. or entered school in the U.S. this academic school year without previous instruction in English, ORcurrently receive literacy instruction ONLY in their native language, OR have recently tested at the lowest level of English language proficiency.
		TIER B is most appropriate for English language learners who: have social language proficiency and some, but not extensive, academic language proficiency in English, OR have acquired some literacy in English, though have not yet reached grade level literacy.				MOST ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS FALL INTO THIS TIER.
				TIER C is most appropriate for English language learners who: are approaching grade level in literacy and academic language proficiency in the core content areas in English, OR will likely meet the state’s exit criteria for support services by the end of the academic year.