Highlights

Record Level: Student by Year by Assessment 
Record Count: 65,000-100,000 records per year 
Years Covered: 2007-Present 
Population Coverage: Data covers all students from private, home schooled and public schools who have participated in these assessments. While private and home schooled students are included in this dataset, they are not advised for reporting unless specifically researching questions around those groups of students.

This English Language Learner Assessment Researcher file contains commonly requested student-level assessment data from the K-12 environment pertaining to English language learner assessments. These assessments are composed of the English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA) and the WIDA. The ELPA was administered to K-12 students identified as English Learners until the 2012-13 school year, and the WIDA has been administered since the 2013-14 school year. We have data from the 2007-2008 school year forward. We anticipate having future years' data as it becomes available.

We have English Language Learner Assessment records for over 320,000 students in total. With regards to each specific assessment, we have records for 150,000 students that were assessed using the ELPA and 245 thousand students that were assessed using the WIDA. Note that 2 thousand of the WIDA students were assessed with the Alternative WIDA because they are students who receive special education services. We have scores for around 100,000 individuals that were tested in Kindergarten. A similar number were tested in 1st and 2nd grade. From 3rd to 12th grade there is a steady decline in the number of individuals assessed; across that grade range the number of students assessed goes from 90,000 to 30,000.

The WIDA consists of four main components: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. Our data contains a scaled score for each of the four main components, and it contains a scaled scores for four combinations of the main components: Oral Language (Listening and Speaking), Literacy (Reading and Writing), Comprehension (Listening and Reading), and Overall (a combination of all four language domains). The ELPA consists of the same four core components as the WIDA: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. Our ELPA data contains a scaled score for each of the four main components, and it contains a scaled score for two combinations of the main components: Comprehension (Listening and Reading) and Overall (a combination of all four language domains). In addition to the scaled score for each component of the assessment, we have the corresponding performance levels. For the WIDA, we have performance levels corresponding to each scaled score. Students who receive special education services and were assessed with the Alternative WIDA receive distinct performance levels. For the ELPA, we simply have a performance level corresponding to the "Overall" scaled score.

2017 WIDA Update

Students who take the WIDA summative assessment are scored on four language domains and receive a scale score and performance level for each domain. Each of the domain scale scores contributes to an EL’s overall English language proficiency score, with reading and writing being weighted most heavily (35% reading, 35% writing, 15% listening, 15% speaking). In 2017, the WIDA assessment was recalibrated (going from WIDA ACCESS 1.0 to 2.0), and the exam was 1) made substantially more difficult and 2) the modality changed from paper and pencil to online.

Dr. Gary Cook from WIDA has explained that it is not possible to create a 1:1 crosswalk between scale scores from before and after the recalibration. In addition to the change in difficulty and the mode of assessment, the standard setting changed substantially for the writing and speaking components of the exam. Moreover, the WIDA ACCESS 1.0 was a static assessment, and after the switch to WIDA ACCESS 2.0, the reading and listening components are staged adaptive tests, while the speaking and writing are static forms selected based on the performance of students in reading and listening. The domain scores were also rescaled.

Although there is no crosswalk between scale scores on the WIDA ACCESS 1.0 and 2.0, there is a crosswalk between performance levels (PLs). The ordinal performance levels range from 1.0 to 6.0 and the cut scores for PLs are based on scale scores, so these also changed when the standards changed in 2017. Gary Cook shared the 4 attached files, which outline the relationship between PLs across the two versions of the assessment.

Additional Resources

For more information on interpreting the scores, please refer to the official WIDA Interpretive Guide and the Alternative Interpretive Guide for the assessment administered to students who receive special education services.

Codebook

Showing 201 - 300 of 1138 results
Category Sort descending Variable Description
Category: Assessment Score Variable: SCI_RSCH_Z_SCORE Description: 

A standardized score assigned to each student that describes each students relationship to the mean of all students with a score.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: SOC_THETA_SE Description: 

The Theta standard error for the social studies portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: SCI_OVERALL_AGP Description: 

The adequate growth percentile (AGP) for the science portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: MTH_PL_NAME Description: 

The performance level name for the mathematics portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: SCI_SGP_LEVEL_DESC Description: 

The student growth percentile (SGP) description for the science portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: RDG_PL_CHANGE Description: 

Performance level change is used to compare student performance from year to year for the reading portion of the assessment . Transition categories are: Significant Decline, Decline, Maintaining, Improvement, or Significant Improvement. Abbreviations are not used in this field, rather the actual descriptions are used.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: WRI_SS Description: 

The scaled score for the writing portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: WRI_SS_SE Description: 

The scaled score standard error for the writing portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: SOC_SS Description: 

The scaled score for the social studies portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: MTH_PL_RANGE Description: 

A distinction which further differentiates whether the student was Low, Mid or High within their designated performance level for the mathematics portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: MTH_SGP_LEVEL_DESC Description: 

The student growth percentile (SGP) description for the mathematics portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: SCI_PL_NAME Description: 

The performance level name for the science portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: ELA_SGP Description: 

The student growth percentile (SGP) for the English language arts portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: RDG_PL_NAME Description: 

The performance level name for the reading portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: MTH_THETA_SE Description: 

The Theta standard error for the mathematics portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: ELA_PL_NAME Description: 

The performance level name for the English language arts portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: SOC_SS_SE Description: 

The scaled score standard error for the social studies portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: MTH_RSCH_Z_SCORE Description: 

A standardized score assigned to each student that describes each students relationship to the mean of all students with a score.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: MTH_OVERALL_AGP Description: 

The adequate growth percentile (AGP) for the mathematics portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: MTH_PL_CHANGE Description: 

Performance level change is used to compare student performance from year to year for the mathematics portion of the assessment . Transition categories are: Significant Decline, Decline, Maintaining, Improvement, or Significant Improvement. Abbreviations are not used in this field, rather the actual descriptions are used.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: SCI_PL Description: 

The performance level for the science portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: ELA_SS_SE Description: 

The scaled score standard error for the English language arts portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: SCI_SGP Description: 

The student growth percentile (SGP) for the science portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: MTH_SS Description: 

The scaled score for the mathematics portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: RDG_VALID Description: 

Flag denoting whether the student's test was valid for the reading portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: RDG_THETA_SE Description: 

The Theta standard error for the reading portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: ELA_SGP_LEVEL_DESC Description: 

The student growth percentile (SGP) description for the English language arts portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: SCI_AGP_YRS_PROJ Description: 

The timeframe in which students are expected to reach proficiency.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: ELA_AGP_YRS_PROJ Description: 

The timeframe in which students are expected to reach proficiency.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: SOC_SGP Description: 

The student growth percentile (SGP) for the social studies portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: SOC_SGP_LEVEL_DESC Description: 

The student growth percentile (SGP) description for the social studies portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: SOC_PL Description: 

The performance level for the social studies portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: SCI_SS Description: 

The scaled score for the science portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: SCI_VALID Description: 

Flag denoting whether the student's test was valid for the science portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Score Variable: RDG_PL Description: 

The performance level for the reading portion of the assessment.

Category: Assessment Subscore Variable: SUBSCORE_RPT_LEVEL_DESC Description: 

The description of the reporting level.

Category: Assessment Subscore Variable: SUBSCORE_PCT_CORRECT Description: 

The number of questions answered correctly divided by the total questions for this reporting level.

Category: Assessment Subscore Variable: SUBSCORE_RPT_LEVEL_TYPE Description: 

The reporting level type. Used as a means of organizing content standards and expectations. Varies by subject.

Category: Assessment Subscore Variable: SUBSCORE_SCALED_SCORE Description: 

The scaled score value for this reporting level.

Category: Assessment Subscore Variable: SUBSCORE_RPT_LEVEL_ID Description: 

The reporting level identifier value used by MDE.

Category: Assignments Variable: ASSIGNED_GRADE_06 Description: 

Flag designating that the staff member was assigned to teach sixth grade.

Category: Assignments Variable: IS_HIGHLY_QUALIFIED Description: 

This field reports whether or not a staff meets the requirements for being highly qualified. It is a required field only for teachers assigned to a core academic subject area and specific instructional paraprofessionals/aides as defined by NCLB and the MI Department of Education.

Category: Assignments Variable: ASSIGNED_GRADE_05 Description: 

Flag designating that the staff member was assigned to teach fifth grade.

Category: Assignments Variable: ASSIGNED_GRADE_09 Description: 

Flag designating that the staff member was assigned to teach ninth grade.

Category: Assignments Variable: ASSIGNMENT_CODE Description: 

The code that indicates the position held by the employee.

Category: Assignments Variable: ASSIGNED_GRADE_10 Description: 

Flag designating that the staff member was assigned to teach tenth grade.

Category: Assignments Variable: ASSIGNED_ISD_CODE Description: 

The state-assigned five-digit number, as recorded in the Educational Entity Master (EEM), that identifies the intermediate school district (ISD) or educational service agency (ESA) in which the district or program is located. This is the ISD that the educator is assigned to.

Category: Assignments Variable: ASSIGNED_GRADE_K Description: 

Flag designating that the staff member was assigned to teach Kindergarten.

Category: Assignments Variable: ASSIGNED_GRADE_11 Description: 

Flag designating that the staff member was assigned to teach eleventh grade.

Category: Assignments Variable: ASSIGNED_GRADE_02 Description: 

Flag designating that the staff member was assigned to teach second grade.

Category: Assignments Variable: EFFECTIVENESS_DESC Description: 

Description used to categorize Educator Effectiveness ranking. This is a locally determined label assigned as a result of annual educator evaluations.

Category: Assignments Variable: FTE Description: 

The amount of time required to perform an assignment stated as a proportion of a full-time position and computed by dividing the amount of time employed by the time normally required for a full-time position.

Category: Assignments Variable: FID_FUNCTION_CODE_DESC Description: 

The accounting/function description for the employee as determined for accounting purposes by the school district.

Category: Assignments Variable: SUMMARY_GROUP_NAME Description: 

The name for a grouping of assignment codes. The data from this grouping are similar to the data published on CEPI's website.

Category: Assignments Variable: ASSIGNED_GRADE_01 Description: 

Flag designating that the staff member was assigned to teach first grade.

Category: Assignments Variable: FEDERAL_GRANT_PARTICIPATION Description: 

This field identifies teachers funded by Title I or Title II Part A who teach core academic subjects in a targeted-assistance program.

Category: Assignments Variable: FID_FUNCTION_CODE Description: 

The accounting/function code for the employee as determined for accounting purposes by the school district.

Category: Assignments Variable: ASSIGNED_GRADE_RK Description: 

Flag designating that the staff member was assigned to teach Retentive Kindergarten.

Category: Assignments Variable: ASSIGNED_GRADE_04 Description: 

Flag designating that the staff member was assigned to teach fourth grade.

Category: Assignments Variable: ASSIGNED_GRADE_08 Description: 

Flag designating that the staff member was assigned to teach eighth grade.

Category: Assignments Variable: EDUCATIONAL_SETTING_DESC Description: 

The description for the educational setting (e.g., Bilingual Education/ELL or Special Education for various age groups, etc.)

Category: Assignments Variable: IS_MDE_TEACHER Description: 

Flag identifying teachers according to the MDE definition.

Category: Assignments Variable: ASSIGNMENT_DESCRIPTION Description: 

The description of the position held by the employee.

Category: Assignments Variable: ASSIGNED_GRADE_03 Description: 

Flag designating that the staff member was assigned to teach third grade.

Category: Assignments Variable: ASSIGNED_GRADE_07 Description: 

Flag designating that the staff member was assigned to teach seventh grade.

Category: Assignments Variable: ASSIGNED_GRADE_12 Description: 

Flag designating that the staff member was assigned to teach twelfth grade.

Category: Assignments Variable: IS_PRINCIPAL Description: 

Flag identifying principals according to the REP manual.

Category: Awards Variable: SCHOOL_START_YEAR_AWARDED Description: 

The numeric start year of the school year during which the award was conferred. Example: 2016

Category: Awards Variable: AWARD_CIP_CATEGORY Description: 

The highest-level category description of the discipline or field of study of the student's program, as defined in the 2-digit Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) by the US Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

Category: Awards Variable: IS_STARR_AWARD Description: 

Designates if the award record came from the STARR collection.

Category: Awards Variable: AWARD_CIP_CODE Description: 

The code indicating the discipline or field of study for which the award was conferred. As submitted by the IHE, sourced from the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP), by the US Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

Category: Awards Variable: AWARD_LEVEL_CATEGORY Description: 

The reporting category of the level of achievement the student has received upon graduation/completion.

Category: Awards Variable: AWARD_DESCRIPTION Description: 

The descriptive title for the academic award, as submitted by the IHE.

Category: Awards Variable: AWARD_CIP_DESCRIPTION Description: 

The description of the discipline or field of study of the student's program, as defined in the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) by the US Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

Category: Awards Variable: AWARD_DATE Description: 

The year, month and day in which the academic award was conferred.

Category: Awards Variable: SCHOOL_YEAR_AWARDED Description: 

The academic school year during which the award was conferred. Example: 2016-2017

Category: Awards Variable: AWARD_LEVEL Description: 

The level of achievement the student has received upon graduation/completion.

Category: Census Block Variable: CENSUS_BLOCK Description: 

The state code, county code, census tract and census block numbers merged into one field as described in the Notes section on the previous tab.

Category: Census Block Variable: COLLECTION Description: 

General collection (Fall, Spring, Year) or SRM identifier.

Category: Course Taking Variable: COURSE_SECTION_NUMBER Description: 

The number assigned to differentiate among distinct occurrences ofcourses that have the same Course Subject Abbreviation and Course Number butare considered to be different courses.

Category: Course Taking Variable: IS_STARR_RECORD Description: 

Designates if the session record came from the STARR collection.

Category: Course Taking Variable: COURSE_TYPE_CODE Description: 

The two-digit code for the course type that represents the level and rigor of the instruction provided throughout the reported course.

Category: Course Taking Variable: LOCAL_COURSE_TITLE Description: 

The title assigned by the educating entity to identify a particular course.

Category: Course Taking Variable: RPIC_3 Description: 

The Research Personnel Identification Code (RPIC), as assigned in the Registry of Educational Personnel (REP) Application, for each teacher responsible for some or all of the instruction of the course being reported. Third of up to 3 possible.

Category: Course Taking Variable: ACADEMIC_SCHOOL_YEAR Description: 

The school year in which the data was reported by the district.

Category: Course Taking Variable: COURSE_FUNDING_CODE Description: 

The code for any programs that provide funding to the student course.

Category: Course Taking Variable: COMPLETION_STATUS_CODE Description: 

The standardized code representing a student's final status for the course being reported.

Category: Course Taking Variable: IS_VIRTUAL_DELIVERY Description: 

Flag that indicates whether the student is receiving instruction via a virtual delivery method. This could be virtual learning, online learning or computer courses; distance learning; or self-scheduled virtual learning.

Category: Course Taking Variable: COLLEGE_CREDIT Description: 

The number of college credit hours earned in a dual/concurrent enrollment course that is eligible for Section 64b Incentive funding.

Category: Course Taking Variable: NUMERIC_GRADE Description: 

The final numeric grade awarded for participation in the course.

Category: Course Taking Variable: IS_REMEDIAL Description: 

Y/N indicator of whether the course is a remedial course.

Category: Course Taking Variable: COURSE_TITLE Description: 

The name or title of the course, as defined by the IHE.

Category: Course Taking Variable: MOD_CREDITS_EARNED Description: 

Total of STARR Credits Earned for the course, or NSC FTE Days converted to Credits Earned for the session.

Category: Course Taking Variable: IS_REMEDIAL_SCIENCE Description: 

Y/N indicator of whether the course is a remedial science course.

Category: Course Taking Variable: IS_REMEDIAL_READING Description: 

Y/N indicator of whether the course is a remedial reading course.

Category: Course Taking Variable: LETTER_GRADE Description: 

The alphabetical grade earned in the course.

Category: Course Taking Variable: COURSE_SUBJECT Description: 

The alphabetic abbreviation of the academic department or discipline offering the course, as defined by the IHE.

Category: Course Taking Variable: IS_REMEDIAL_ESL Description: 

Y/N indicator of whether the course is a remedial English as a Second Language (ESL) course.

Category: Course Taking Variable: GRADE_SCALE_CODE Description: 

The grading scale used by the institution for the enrolled course, according to Postsecondary Electronic Standards Council (PESC) standards.

Category: Course Taking Variable: RPIC_2 Description: 

The Research Personnel Identification Code (RPIC), as assigned in the Registry of Educational Personnel (REP) Application, for each teacher responsible for some or all of the instruction of the course being reported. Second of up to 3 possible.