Test Administrator Training

Introductory Information regarding the Online Test Administrator Training

Objectives and general information about assessment training as well as participants' roles throughout the training.are reviewed in the Introduction to Online Training .

Preliminary Workshop Materials including the Nondisclosure Agreement and Test Administration Manuals can be found in the training course in the Overview Module. Login to download or print these materials.

The rest of this page offers a variety of multimedia training materials explaining the WIDA assessment system. It is designed to assist district facilitators and state testing coordinators in planning local training sessions for educators.

Sample Test Items and Scored Responses

Samples of ACCESS For ELLs^® test items, including Speaking (arranged according to level and score), Listening, Reading, and Writing are currently available on the online test administration training course. Look for them in the Group Test Module.

The W-APT™ Scored Student Writing Sample booklet includes samples of authentic writing tasks completed by students who participated in the 2006 field test of the W-APT™. They include both benchmark papers and training papers to assist you in developing your ability to reliably rate your own students' writing.

Presentations on the ACCESS for ELLs^®

For a free copy of the various Microsoft Power Point presentations offered by WIDA, please contact help@wida.us and explain the topic of your training. The most frequently used presentation covers ACCESS for ELLs® Tier Placement, Test Ordering, Security, Test Administration and Score Reports.

The following Power Point presentation is available in the WIDA Training Toolkit CD-ROM. Please contact your district or state assessment/ESL coordinator to ask for a free copy of this resource, as it contains many valuable documents for local trainers. To receive the most up-to-date version of this presentation, please email Ilsa May at immay@wisc.edu.

ACCESS for ELLs® Training (PPT)

The purpose of this training module is to inform participants of the tier placement, booklet ordering, and security procedures that must be adhered to before, during, and after administration of the ACCESS for ELLs®. It offers advice on placing students in a tier and examples of students whose traits fit each tier. The roles and responsibilities of those involved in testing, particularly as they relate to test security, will be defined. Participants will become familiar with general and state-specific test security guidelines; the types of materials they will receive at the district and school level; and the timeline for receipt and return of these materials vis-á-vis the testing window. This training module also provides a sample security checklist for districts and schools to follow to ensure test security.

The following presentations on the ACCESS for ELLs^® test were delivered by Jim Bauman and Jessica Motz (now Nelson) of the Center for Applied Linguistics (one of WIDA's Partners) at Illinois' 28th Annual Statewide Conference for Teachers Serving Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Students from January 24-27, 2005. Both presentations are available as Microsoft Power Point (ppt) and Adobe (.pdf) files.

Structure & Field Test (PPT, PDF)

This presentation addresses the structure of the ACCESS for ELLs Test--the WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards upon which it is based, the grade level clusters and tiers, and the language domains. It touches upon the test development process and the issue of testing language versus content; provides sample Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking items from pilot and field tests; and outlines aspects of the training for both field and operational test administration.

Item Writing Process (PPT, PDF)

This presentation discusses the use of online courseware to involve ESL teachers in ACCESS test item creation. It goes into detail about the test item writing process: conceiving an item, writing it to the WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards and test specifications, and refining the item. Connections are also made to professional development for classroom instruction and assessment, and how technology might facilitate such training.

Looking for more information?

Online ACCESS for ELLs^® test administration training and certification is available for educators in Consortium states. For state-specific requirements and instructions for training course registration and certification, please visit the Member States page, and click on your state.

To learn about professional development opportunities for your school, district, or state, including face-to-face trainings, please visit the Professional Development section of our website.

If you have other questions, please fill out our Help Form or call toll free 1-866-276-7735.