Standards+WIDA+English,+IL+ELPS,+and+TESOL


 * Standards**

__ WIDA Standards (English) __

The World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment standards for English are basically a guideline for teachers, from Pre-k to grade 12, to plan instruction for students who are not native English speakers. The WIDA consortium strives to link the development of English language skills with academics in all the content areas. WIDA was also developed to connect assessment of English Language Learners (ELLs), in the form of WIDA’s ACCESS for ELLs test, to the content they are learning in the classroom. As teachers are planning their lessons, they can refer to content standards for the academic content and the WIDA standards for the language content for their ELL students. WIDA standards are divided into five areas, Social and Instructional communication, Language Arts content language, Math content language, Science content language, and Social Studies content language. In addition these five areas are repeated for Formative and Summative Frameworks. The Formative Framework describes the processes of student learning. The Summative Framework describes the outcomes of student learning. The standards are grouped into grade level clusters (Pre-K-K, 1-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12) and language domains (listening, speaking, reading, writing). Model Performance Indicators (MPIs) in each cluster and domain are divided into levels (Entering, Beginning, Developing, Expanding, Bridging, and Reaching) so that teachers can individualize what level students are at for each. Performance Definitions at each level describe what the student must demonstrate in terms of linguistic complexity (amount and quality of speech or writing), vocabulary usage (words or phrases used for a given situation), and language control (ability to be understood and types of errors made) in order to be placed at that level. Below you will find a link to the WIDA consortium’s web page as well as a pdf file of the Resource Guide to the WIDA standards. [|WIDA]

__ IL ELPS Standards __

The Illinois English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) are the standards for English Language Learners in Illinois. These were based on the WIDA standards. They are intended to be used to plan and implement curriculum as well as to design and guide assessment of ELL students. The English Language Proficiency standards are divided into grade level clusters, language domains, and proficiency levels pretty much exactly the same way the WIDA standards are (see above for more information). Performance Definitions and Model Performance Indicators are also included as well. The frameworks for the Illinois English Language Performance Standards differ from WIDA, however. The first framework is that of large-scale state assessment. The purpose of this framework is to create a statewide English proficiency test and also the measures by which this test will be evaluated. The second framework is that of classroom assessment. The purpose of this framework is to create measures for classroom based instruction and assessment and is more subject matter specific. Thus, the main difference between the WIDA standards and the IL ELPS is the purpose of the frameworks. Where WIDA is looking at processes and outcomes, IL ELPS is mainly assessment oriented. Below you will find a link to the Illinois State Board of Education's web page on the IL ELPS as well as a pdf file of the IL ELPS Framework. [|IL ELPS]

__ TESOL Standards __

TESOL is a national organization and the standards were created at the national level to be a guide for the development of state and district standards across the country. They are intended to complement and expand on the WIDA standards mentioned above. The TESOL standards are similar in nature to both the WIDA and the WIDA-based IL ELPS. They use the same language domains and grade-level clusters as the previous two sets of standards. Although they use 5 instead of 6 levels and the titles are slightly different, the same basic principles are involved. Each level has performance definitions and model performance indicators to help place students’ various levels of proficiency across the domains. The five standards used by TESOL are almost identical to the WIDA and IL ELPS with one difference. In the first standard TESOL includes intercultural communication in addition to social and instructional communication. This is am important distinction, as it implies the need for students to communicate with cultures, including the dominant culture of the United States, which may have very different social norms and customs than their own. Below you will find a link to the TESOL Standards Framework web page. [|TESOL Standards Framework]