Initially, students entering Shenandoah County Public Schools are assessed using the WIDA Screener online test.  Students in grades 4-12 will complete all components (listening, reading, speaking, and writing) on the computer.  Students in grades 1-3 will take  listening, reading, and speaking on the computer, but writing is paper/pencil.  Kindergarten students will continue to take the paper/pencil   W-APT test. The test is given to assist educators in identification and placement of ELL students. 

If the student comes from another division that is in the WIDA Consortium, this assessment is not given.  Rather, information from their last ACCESS for ELL's test is used to identify and determine placement.

Every spring, LEP students are assessed using the WIDA ACCESS for ELL's test.  There are four language domains, or components, to the test; listening, reading, speaking, and writing.  The ACCESS for ELLs tests a student's proficiency in social and instructional language, the language of language arts, the language of math, the language of science and the language of social studies.    

For more information on either test, please visit the WIDA website, www.wida.us