The 2006 Revised ACCESS Placement Test (W-APT) will be available on or before July 15, 2006.

The WIDA ACCESS Placement Test ("Screener") and training documents are available as downloadable PDF files here. You will need to log in to view them.

You will receive login information from your district coordinator, who will in turn receive login information from your state coordinator. If you have not yet received your login information, please contact the above two persons.

About the W-APT

The WIDA ACCESS Placement Test (W-APT) is modeled after the ACCESS for ELLs™ secure assessment. Similarities between the two assessments include:

• Assesses all four domains: Listening, speaking, reading, and writing
• Addresses all five WIDA ELP standards
• Individually administered, adaptive speaking test
• Administrator read listening test
• Multiple choice listening and reading items
• Constructed response writing tasks
• Thematically grouped tasks and items
• Individually administered, adaptive kindergarten form

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ACCESS FOR ELLs™ and W-APT
	ACCESS for ELLs™	W-APT
Purpose	Annual assessment of ELP progress	Program placement
Administration time	Approximately 2.5 hours	Approximately 1.1 hours
Proficiency level (PL) coverage	Three tiers, each covering 3 levels	Proficiency levels 1 through 4
Organization	Three tiers: beginning (A), intermediate (B), advanced (C)	Two modules: 1) Speaking  2) Listening/reading/writing
Level of security	Secure, administered during test window	Semi-secure; not for public dissemination but administered as needed
Administration procedures	Individual speaking; group administered (L,R,W) by tier within grade level cluster	Module 1: Individual; Module 2: Individual or small group by grade level cluster
Scoring	Machine scored by MetriTech, Inc. (L, R, W)	Administrator scored on site
Reporting	Reports from MetriTech, Inc.	Locally determined
Speaking	Three parts, 13 tasks total = 15 minutes	One part, five tasks  = 8-10 minutes.
Listening	6-7 parts, 19-22 items = 30 minutes	Three parts, 9-10 items = 15 minutes
Reading	6-8 parts, 23-30 items = 40 minutes	Four parts, 12 items = 20 minutes
Writing	Three (Tier A) or four (Tier B-C) parts = 60 minutes	Two parts = 25

W-APT Description

The W-APT for all grade levels except kindergarten has two modules:

• Module 1: Speaking. All students should be administered Module 1 first. If a student does not score above a 1, do not continue with Module 2, except in unusual circumstances where you have good reason to believe that a student is more proficent in listening, reading and writing. Classify the student as ELP level 1. If the student scores 2 or above, administer Module 2. If the student has no discernable English proficiency, check the No English Proficiency box on the scoring sheet.
• Module 2: Listening, reading and writing tasks. Module 2 consists of items addressing ELP proficiency levels 2-4. Students should do as much of the assessment as possible. Scores from Module 2 as well as Module 1 will result in an overall proficiency level determination.

The Kindergarten placement test is organized as a single test beginning with the Listening component. All parts of the K screener are administered one-on-one and are designed to be adaptive. That is, instructions are included to halt a test component before the end if the student is unable to meet minimal response requirements.

W-APT Scoring

• Scoring for the speaking section of the W-APT is identical to the ACCESS for ELLs™. Trained test administrators determine whether a student's response meets or exceeds expectations or not based on a given rubric.
• Scoring for the writing is also based on a given rubric.
• An answer key on the scoring sheet is provided for the multiple choice listening and reading items.
• The W-APT scoring sheet guides test administrators in scoring and determining overall proficiency levels.

Training for W-APT Administration

Test administrators who have participated in test administration training for the ACCESS for ELLs™ secure assessment will be well qualified to administer the W-APT; they will merely need to review sound files and writing rubrics and samples. It is recommended, but not required, that W-APT administrators be trained for the full ACCESS for ELLs™, which is a more complete and detailed training program. However, the manual, rubrics and sample tasks should be sufficient for reliably administering and scoring the W-APT.

The training package for the W-APT includes:

• An administrator manual and scripts, including directions for both individual and group administration
• Sample sound files of the speaking tasks (Coming soon)
• Sample papers for the writing tasks (as an appendix in the Manual)

Accessing the W-APT

The Screener and training documents are available as downloadable PDF files here. You will need to log in to view them.

You will receive login information from your district coordinator, who will in turn receive login information from your state coordinator. If you have not yet received your login information, please contact the above two persons.

For more information regarding the W-APT, ACCESS for ELLs™ or other WIDA Consortium related information, contact us at info@wida.us