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EL Identification Criteria

Oklahoma is a member of the WIDA consortium and uses the suite of WIDA Screener tests to determine whether students need English language services and to establish EL status.

 Screening Pre-K Students:

  • Since Pre-K students rarely have any literacy skills to assess, they take a “placeholder” test, the Pre-K Screening Tool (PKST). The PKST is a 10-question oral language screener developed by OSDE, as there is not a WIDA assessment for Pre-K students.

Screening Kindergarten Students:

  • Students being placement tested in the fall of their kindergarten year should be given the Oral (Speaking/Listening) domains of either the Kindergarten W-APT or Kindergarten MODEL. If students are being placement tested in the spring of their kindergarten year, it is a district-level decision whether or not students are administered all four domains of placement testing, or if they, too, take only the Oral domains. All kindergarteners taking only the Oral domains of either the Kindergarten W-APT or Kindergarten MODEL qualify as ELs for their kindergarten year if the test results indicate so. 

Screening Students in Grades 1-12:

  • Students in the second semester of first grade through the twelfth grade should be given the WIDA Screener appropriate to the student’s grade level. The WIDA Screeners are designed for “grade level clusters,” grouping together grades 2 and 3, 4 and 5, 6 through 8, and 9 through 12.

For all other grades, students with a composite score of 4.7 or lower qualify as ELs. 

They should also be given the WIDA Access 2.0 proficiency test each spring until they reach proficiency.

EL Exit Criteria

For ELs who take all four domains of the Kindergarten ACCESS, or ELs who take ACCESS for ELLs, with or without accommodations, the cut score that automatically qualifies a student for exit from EL services are the same. Students must score 4.8 or better on their Composite/Overall score in order to automatically exit.

For ELs in grades 3-12 who take all four domains of ACCESS for ELLs, with or without accommodations, the ELP band that qualifies a student for consideration by a committee of academic team members for potential exit from EL services is the same. Students who score in the range of 4.3-4.7 on their Composite/Overall score on ACCESS for ELLs and score a minimum of Basic on their OSTP ELA test from the same year in which they score within the ELP band will be eligible for consideration for potential exit from EL services by a committee made up of academic team members familiar with the student and their linguistic and academic abilities. Please note that students who score within the ELP band must meet at least one out of five additional criteria contained on the ACCESS for ELLs ELP Band Committee Rubric in order for their committee of academic team members to declare them English proficient and exit them from EL services.