English Language Development Standards – WIDA

Page Contents

ELD Standards
Performance Definitions
Features of Academic Language
CAN-DO Descriptors
Model Performance Indicators (MPI)
WIDA Tutorial (video)
Hampton Brown’s “Avenues” Correlations K-5
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ELD Standards

These ELD standards were developed in 2004 by a consortium of states called WIDA (World-Class Instruction Design and Assessment). In September 2011, WIDA released revised ELD standards for 2012 which include “cognitive function” (Bloom’s revised taxonomy). They outline the progression of English language development in the four domains of Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing through five levels from novice to proficient. Click on “Downloads & Products/Standards” to go directly to wida.us to be sure you have the most recent version.

WIDA 2012 Amplified ELD Standards: the complete document

Performance Definitions

The Performance Definitions for Listening and Reading and Speaking and Writing provide an incremental overview of the language acquisition process from Level 1 Entering through Level 5 Bridging. These incorporate five language standards in each of the four domains (Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing):

Social and Instructional language
The language of Language Arts
The language of Mathematics
The language of Science
The language of Social Studies

Features of Academic Language

The WIDA standards chart these Features of Academic Language by proficiency level:

vocabulary usage
language forms and conventions
linguistic complexity

The WIDA writing rubric is also useful for scoring student work in the classroom.

CAN-DO Descriptors

The CAN-DO descriptors give teachers a basic overview of each student’s abilities based on the annual proficiency test (ACCESS) results. Keep in mind that each student will have a separate score for each domain. Generally, Speaking and Listening proficiency develop more rapidly than Reading and Writing, although there are always exceptions.

Guide your lesson planning and foster student buy-in with these Student Friendly CAN-DO Descriptors K-12 for Grades K-12.

Here are the detailed CAN-DO Descriptors Key Uses 2016 from WIDA. Note that the grade level grouping has changed. Instead of Grades 1-2 and 3-5, Grade 1 is now stand alone and there are now new groups for Grades 2-3 and Grades 4-5. Click on “Downloads and Products/CAN-DOs” to go directly to wida.us to be sure you have the most recent version.

The charts below include a column where you can add student names to the corresponding proficiency level to create a quick class profile of your ELLs. (WIDA has plans to update the Class Charts so they match the revised grade level clusters.)

Model Performance Indicators (MPI)

The Model Performance Indicators (MPI) are examples of language usage from each of the four domains (Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing) presented in a developmental sequence across language proficiency levels and grade level clusters. They incorporate the language and instructional supports necessary for English language learners to progress towards mastery of state academic content standards. They include both formative and summative examples. Regardless of the grade level or content area, MPIs for Levels 1,2, and 3 incorporate visual or graphic support, realia, or manipulatives to provide students access to meaning through multiple modalities. MPIs for Levels 4 and 5 assume students are exposed to and working with grade level material. These charts were developed by the NC Department of Instruction:

Use this tool from WIDA to search the ELD standards for MPIs by grade level cluster, proficiency level, language domain, and topic.

Confused about the difference between CAN-DO Descriptors and MPIs? WIDA makes a clear comparison with this chart:

The differences between CAN DO Descriptors and Model Performance Indicators

NC Department of Public Instruction has released a 64 page document on “Unpacking the ESL Standards.” If you scroll through it, you will find good sentence frames that model how to teach ELD standards within each content area.