Understanding WIDA: What Every Teacher Needs to Know

WIDA isn’t just for language specialists. It’s a roadmap for all teachers who want to help multilingual learners succeed.

1. What is WIDA?

The WIDA Consortium was established in 2003 to create English language proficiency standards and assessments (WIDA, n.d.-a). The goal was to ensure English Language Learners (ELLs) receive the support they need to grow in both content knowledge and language proficiency. This was especially important because English language and bilingual programs in the United States have historically been inconsistent and, at times, contentious (Colorín Colorado, n.d.; Papa, 2020).

2. The WIDA Standards Framework

At my school, we use the WIDA MODEL assessments to determine ELLs’ proficiency in the four language domains: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. WIDA’s Can Do Descriptors outline what students are able to do at each proficiency level in each domain, which helps teachers plan instruction that is challenging but achievable.

Andrea Honigsfeld’s Growing Language and Literacy (2019) breaks these levels down comprehensively and offers strategies for supporting ELLs across the four domains.

WIDA proficiency levels range from:

1. Entering

2. Emerging

3. Developing

4. Expanding

5. Bridging

6. Reaching

Students can be at different levels for different domains, so a student might be “Reaching” in listening but still “Emerging” in reading (WIDA, n.d.-b).

3. Why WIDA Matters for Classroom Teachers

WIDA’s English Language Development Standards Framework provides grade-level expectations for four communication purposes: narration, explanation, information, and argument. These can be used alongside your grade-level content standards so that you can make academic material accessible without lowering rigor.

This is important because an ELL may have mastered content in their home language but may not yet have the English skills to show it (Honigsfeld, 2019). WIDA helps teachers identify how to scaffold instruction so students can demonstrate what they know.

4. How to Use WIDA Scores: A Hypothetical Example

Here’s a Grade 2 student’s WIDA profile for narrative/recount tasks:

Language Domain: Listening

Proficiency Level: 6.0 (Reaching)

Can Do Descriptors: Identify key ideas from texts read aloud; determine main ideas and supporting details from oral presentations or multimedia.

Language Domain: Speaking

Proficiency Level: 3.3 (Expanding)

Can Do Descriptors: Retell simple stories from picture cues; share personal or school-related experiences.

Language Domain: Reading

Proficiency Level: 2.5 (Emerging)

Can Do Descriptors: Identify time-related language in context; illustrate characters’ experiences with picture support.

Language Domain: Writing

Proficiency Level: 3.4 (Expanding)

Can Do Descriptors: Retell past experiences; express ideas in various genres (poetry, journals).

What this means:

• Listening is a strength — this student can understand narratives much like a native English speaker.

• Speaking and writing are at the expanding level — they can express ideas but may need support to be more fluent and detailed.

• Reading is at the emerging level — comprehension is developing and may be affected by decoding challenges.

5. Applying WIDA Data to Standards-Based Instruction

Let’s connect this profile to three California Common Core Standards for Grade 2 narratives:

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.3 – Describe how characters respond to major events and challenges.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.6 – Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.3 – Write narratives with details, temporal words, and closure.

RL.2.3 – Character Responses

• Leverage listening (6.0): Read aloud with pauses to discuss major events and character reactions using sentence starters (“The character felt ___ because ___”).

• Scaffold speaking (3.3): Have the student share one event/response orally before writing it down.

• Support reading (2.5): Use a T-chart (Event / Response) with visuals to track character actions.

RL.2.6 – Point of View

• Model voices: Read dialogue aloud using distinct voices for each character.

• Highlight dialogue: Color-code speech in the text by character.

• Practice perspective: Role-play scenes to show how each character views the events.

W.2.3 – Narrative Writing

• Oral rehearsal (3.3): Use picture sequences to orally retell events before writing.

• Provide a frame: Use prompts for setting, events, feelings, and closure.

• Use temporal words: Post a visual word bank (“first,” “next,” “then,” “finally”) to support sequencing.

Final Thought

WIDA is more than a test score. It’s a guide showing an ELLs’ areas of strengths and improvement. It is a way to plan instruction that bridges gaps between what students already know and what they need to communicate in English. When all teachers understand how to read and use WIDA data, ELLs are better supported and more likely to thrive in every subject.

References

Colorín Colorado. (n.d.). A chronology of federal law and policy impacting language minority students. Retrieved July 20, 2025, from https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/chronology-federal-law-and-policy-impacting-language-minority-students

Honigsfeld, A. (2019). Growing language and literacy: Strategies for English learners. Heinneman.

Papa, E. L. (2020). Bilingual education for all in Rhode Island: Assuring the inclusion of minoritized language. NECTFL Review, 86, 45–61.

WIDA. (n.d.-a). About WIDA. University of Wisconsin–Madison. https://wida.wisc.edu/about

WIDA. (n.d.-b). Can Do descriptors. University of Wisconsin–Madison. https://wida.wisc.edu/teach/can-do/descriptors

WIDA. (n.d.-c). English language development standards framework. University of Wisconsin–Madison. https://wida.wisc.edu/teach/standards/eld