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Learning Standards Standards
Framework

WIDA English Language Development Standards

The WIDA English Language Development Standards describe the academic English that multilingual learners need to do their work in content classrooms. The WIDA Consortium at the University of Wisconsin-Madison publishes them. Forty-one states and U.S. territories belong to the consortium and use WIDA together with the annual ACCESS test. The current version is the 2020 Edition. It covers PreK through grade 12 across five content areas, four language domains, and six proficiency levels.

  • PreK-12 ELD
  • 2020 Edition
  • 41 states + territories
  • WIDA Consortium
WIDA ELD Standards Framework, 2020 Edition Source: wida.wisc.edu
Five ELD standards
Each WIDA standard names a domain of academic English. All five are present at every grade-level cluster.
Social and Instructional Language

The everyday English students need to navigate school.

Language for Language Arts

Academic English for the ELA classroom.

Language for Mathematics

Academic English for math.

Language for Science

Academic English for science.

Language for Social Studies

Academic English for social studies.

How the standards are organized
How the framework is structured, in plain English.

WIDA standards are not a single list. They are a coordinate system. Each expectation sits at the intersection of four dimensions: a content-area standard, a grade-level cluster, a language domain, a proficiency level, and a Key Language Use.

A single WIDA expectation specifies a grade-level cluster, a content area, a language domain, a proficiency level, and a key language use. That coordinate set is what teachers plan from. Most teachers come at WIDA through the Can Do Descriptors, which translate the coordinates into classroom-ready statements like "the student can describe steps in a process."

ELD Standards (5)
  • Social and Instructional Language
  • Language for Language Arts
  • Language for Mathematics
  • Language for Science
  • Language for Social Studies
Language Domains (4)
  • Listening
  • Speaking
  • Reading
  • Writing
Proficiency Levels (6)
  • Entering
  • Emerging
  • Developing
  • Expanding
  • Bridging
  • Reaching
Key Language Uses (4)
  • Narrate
  • Inform
  • Explain
  • Argue
How to read a WIDA expectation
WIDA does not use a short letter-number code like Common Core or NGSS. Each expectation is named by its coordinates.
Coordinate-style expectation 
ELD Standard 3 · Grades 4-5 · Speaking · Expanding · Explain
 │                  │           │           │           │
 │                  │           │           │           └── Key Language Use
 │                  │           │           └────────────── Proficiency Level (4 of 6)
 │                  │           └────────────────────────── Language Domain
 │                  └────────────────────────────────────── Grade-Level Cluster
 └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Content Area Standard (1-5)

Read this as the expectation for a grade 4-5 multilingual learner at the Expanding level, speaking about mathematics, when the function is to explain. The actual expectation text describes what the student can do at that intersection, often paired with a sample academic task.

Common misreads
The framings teachers run into most often, with the actual story underneath.
  • WIDA is a content standard for English Language Arts.

    No. WIDA is a language development standard. It describes the academic English students need to access ELA, math, science, and social studies content. It is meant to sit alongside your state's content standards, not in place of them.

  • WIDA replaces my content instruction.

    WIDA gives teachers a way to describe what language a multilingual learner can produce at each proficiency level. It does not replace your content standards. A grade 5 multilingual learner is still working toward grade 5 math content. WIDA helps you scaffold the language so they can show what they know.

  • A student at the Reaching level no longer needs support.

    Reaching is the top of the WIDA scale, but it does not mean the student needs no language support. Many districts reclassify students before they hit Reaching across all four domains. The label is a coordinate on a developmental scale, not a final destination.

  • Only ESL teachers use WIDA.

    All content teachers in a member state should be using WIDA. The ESL teacher is the specialist. The classroom teacher is the one delivering content-area instruction every day. Both planning together is the design intent.

Glossary
The terms the framework uses, with a one-line plain-English read.
Multilingual learner (ML)
The WIDA term for a student who is developing English alongside other languages. Replaces older terms like ELL and LEP.
ELD Standard
One of five content-area standards (Social and Instructional, ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies).
Language Domain
Listening, Speaking, Reading, or Writing.
Proficiency Level
One of six developmental levels (Entering, Emerging, Developing, Expanding, Bridging, Reaching).
Key Language Use
One of four functional categories of academic language use (Narrate, Inform, Explain, Argue). New in the 2020 Edition.
Can Do Descriptors
Companion document that translates the WIDA standards into classroom-ready descriptions of what a student can do at each level.
ACCESS for ELLs
The annual WIDA proficiency test, used by member states for Title III reporting.
WIDA Screener
The initial English proficiency screener used to identify new multilingual learners.
Frequently asked questions
  • Which states belong to the WIDA Consortium?

    Forty-one U.S. states and territories. Non-WIDA states use their own English-language proficiency standards. California's ELPAC and Texas's TELPAS are the two largest non-WIDA systems.

  • What changed in the 2020 Edition?

    The 2020 Edition introduced the four Key Language Uses (Narrate, Inform, Explain, Argue) and reorganized the standards around genres of academic language. It also tightened the connection between WIDA expectations and content-area performance.

  • How is WIDA different from the ACCESS test?

    WIDA is the standards framework. ACCESS for ELLs is the annual test built on those standards. A member state uses WIDA to plan instruction and uses ACCESS scores to make reclassification decisions.

  • Can a non-member district use WIDA materials?

    Yes, with a license from WIDA. The annual ACCESS test is restricted to consortium members.

  • How do WIDA proficiency levels map to common content-classroom expectations?

    Loosely. A student at Entering or Emerging needs heavy scaffolding to access grade-level content. A student at Bridging or Reaching can usually participate in grade-level discussions with targeted vocabulary support. The Can Do Descriptors give the specifics by domain.

A short history
  1. 1

    2002: World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment

    A consortium of three states (Wisconsin, Delaware, Arkansas) wins a federal Enhanced Assessment Grant to build a new English-language proficiency standards system and test. The WIDA name comes from the original grant.

  2. 2

    2004: First WIDA standards

    The WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards are released. The original ACCESS test follows.

  3. 3

    2007 and 2012: Editions 2 and 3

    WIDA publishes two updated editions. The 2012 Edition introduces the five content-area standards in their modern form and the six-level proficiency scale.

  4. 4

    December 2020: 2020 Edition

    WIDA publishes the 2020 Edition, organized around four Key Language Uses (Narrate, Inform, Explain, Argue). The new edition tightens the link between language development and content-area instruction.

  5. 5

    Today

    41 U.S. states and territories belong to the WIDA Consortium. All member states administer ACCESS for ELLs annually to identified multilingual learners.

Why this framework matters

WIDA grew out of the Wisconsin-Delaware-Arkansas state collaboration in the early 2000s. The original aim was practical. No Child Left Behind required every state to assess English learners every year, and most states did not have a standards-based system to build that test on. The Wisconsin Center for Education Research built one and licensed it to other states. Within a decade, WIDA had become the largest English-language proficiency consortium in the United States.

The 2020 Edition is the biggest update in WIDA's history. It pulls the standards closer to content-area instruction and asks teachers to plan around what students do with language (narrate a story, inform a reader, explain a process, argue a position), not just around discrete grammar or vocabulary skills. The four Key Language Uses are the most visible change, and the Can Do Descriptors have been rebuilt to match.

Framework facts
The receipts: who publishes this, when it shipped, what's official.
Publisher
WIDA Consortium, hosted at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
First released
2004 (English Language Proficiency Standards).
Current version
2020 Edition (released December 2020). Prior editions: 2007, 2012.
Subjects covered
Academic English across five content areas: Social and Instructional Language, Language for Language Arts, Language for Mathematics, Language for Science, and Language for Social Studies.
Grade range
PreK-12, organized into grade-level clusters: PreK-K, 1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8, 9-12.
Adoption
41 U.S. states and territories belong to the WIDA Consortium.
Legal status
WIDA's ACCESS test is used by member states to meet Every Student Succeeds Act (Title III) requirements for English learner identification and reclassification.
Companion frameworks
ACCESS for ELLs (annual proficiency test), WIDA Screener (initial identification), WIDA MODEL, and the WIDA Can Do Descriptors.
License
Available to member states through consortium membership. Non-member districts can license the materials from WIDA.
Sources
Every page link goes back to the official document.