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Madison Metropolitan School District

English as a Second Language (ESL)

Eligibility for ESL Services:

  • Students who speak language(s) other than, or in addition to, English
  • Have language(s) other than, or in addition to, English spoken in their household
  • Private/parochial students who qualify for and will participate in ESL services will receive additional information from their school.

The initial English Language Proficiency exam, sometimes referred to as the "language screener" is administered upon enrollment and should be completed by the 3rd Friday count each September.  The WIDA Screener is also used by private/parochials schools served by MMSD as the initial language screening exam.

The ACCESS exam is an annual English Language Proficiency assessment that English Language Learners will complete during the MMSD testing window (generally December-February).  The results are shared with both parents and school staff in May. For more information, please visit the WIDA website.


WIDA's Can Do Descriptors

The WIDA Can Do Descriptors are commonly used by ESL teachers in coaching general education teachers about differentiated instruction for English language learners (ELLs).

The Can Do Descriptors highlight what language learners can do at various stages of language development as they engage in the following contexts:

  • Bilingual and English-immersion early care and education programs
  • Bilingual, Spanish-immersion and English-immersion K-12 language programs
  • Bilingual, Spanish-immersion and English-immersion K-12 content-area classrooms

The Can Do Descriptors can also be distributed with ACCESS for ELLs or WIDA MODEL score reports to help give teachers a basic overview of what the Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing proficiency level results indicate about their students' abilities. For more information, please visit the WIDA website.

English Language Learner Plan External Evaluation

Community Feedback of ELL Plan Evaluation - Please give your feedback 

Hmong Community Feedback of ELL Plan Evaluation - Please give your feedback