Question of the Week
Q: When can materials be ordered for WIDA ACCESS and WIDA Alternate ACCESS?
A: The materials ordering window for WIDA ACCESS (WIDA ACCESS, WIDA Alternate ACCESS, WIDA ACCESS for Kindergarten, Large print, Braille) is Sept. 26 - Oct. 22. District Assessment Coordinators (DACs) will order test material in the WIDA Assessment Management System (AMS) and are advised to order only the materials that are required. The Office of Assessment and Accountability (OAA) will provide the Data Recognition Corporation (DRC) with the pre-ID label file after the ordering window closes. DACs will not order pre-ID labels in WIDA AMS.
To support districts with the ordering process, OAA has developed the Ordering Materials PowerPoint. Additionally, OAA will host an Ordering Materials Office Hour on Monday, Oct. 6, via Teams.
For questions about the WIDA ACCESS and WIDA Alternate ACCESS Test Materials Ordering, please contact Chris Williams.
Student-Level Data for Alternate Kentucky Summative Assessment (AKSA) Released Items Now Available
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has made student-level data for the AKSA Released Items available in the Student Data Download. This data corresponds to the released test items currently posted on the KDE Sample Test Items webpage.
District leaders are encouraged to review this information to support instructional planning and decision-making for students participating in the Alternate Assessment.
For questions, please contact Krista Mullins.
Participate in a WIDA ACCESS Event
Every year, WIDA asks the WIDA community to participate in events and activities that help review and refresh the assessment tools.
The WIDA ACCESS assessments are taken by a diverse population of students speaking many languages: students in big cities and in rural areas, students new to the United States and students born here. WIDA and the test development partners work hard to create an assessment that:
- Reflects the diversity of multilingual learners
- Positively portrays students with a range of backgrounds
- Carefully avoids topics or situations that may evoke a negative reaction
While WIDA works to do these things throughout test development via events such as bias, sensitivity and content reviews, classroom observations, surveys, expert panels, and field testing, WIDA recognizes that its perspective is by nature incomplete. For this reason, WIDA invites educators to participate in review of test content in development. WIDA values the fresh eyes, unique perspectives and range of experiences that educators bring to items, and test items are revised based on this feedback from the field. If educators would like to contribute to WIDA test development work, please visit the Building a WIDA Assessment page to learn more and apply.
For questions, please contact Chris Williams.
Kick Off the School Year with WIDA Self-Paced Workshops
Professional learning is available on school and district staff's schedules, at staff's pace. WIDA Self-Paced Workshops are free for educators in participating WIDA Consortium member states. Explore all 12 workshops on the Self-Paced Workshops page on the WIDA website.
For questions, please contact Chris Williams.
WIDA Wants Educator Input on Upcoming Workshops
WIDA professional learning is hard at work developing new learning opportunities. But WIDA can't do it without educators! Educator insights are essential to inform the design of upcoming workshops. Educator participation in each survey should take about 10 minutes of time and WIDA invites educators to complete one or all of the surveys by Sept. 26, at 11:59 p.m. CT.
Educator voice matters to WIDA and participation in the survey is appreciated! For questions, please contact Chris Williams.
New Article Highlights Best Practices for Determining Accommodations for Students
For educators working with multilingual learners with disabilities, choosing the right accommodations on WIDA assessments can feel complicated. WIDA recently conducted a research study to better understand who makes decisions about accommodations for students with disabilities on WIDA assessments, what support educators receive and how familiar educators are with specific WIDA accommodations. Read the article for some early key takeaways from this research and what the early key takeaways mean for the teaching practice.
For questions, please contact Chris Williams.
Reminder: Upcoming WIDA Assessment Webinar
Please join WIDA and DRC to learn about the following assessment topic:
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Ordering WIDA ACCESS Materials in WIDA AMS Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 1-2 p.m. CT
Learn more and add this upcoming webinar to personal calendars on the Webinars page (login required).
Can’t make it? The recordings for Assessment Webinars are posted to the WIDA Secure Portal on the Webinars page within a week of the presentation.
For questions, please contact Chris Williams.
Improvement Planning Phase Two and the 2025-2026 Needs Assessment Diagnostic
As districts and schools are completing phase one diagnostics in the comprehensive improvement planning process (due Oct. 1), many teams have begun the process to determine areas of focus for this year’s improvement plans. As a reminder, the comprehensive improvement planning timeline is outlined in 703 KAR 5:225 and includes a Nov. 1 deadline for submission of the associated diagnostics, including the Needs Assessment for Districts and Schools diagnostics. With a later release of Kentucky Summative Assessment (KSA) data this year, schools and districts are encouraged to utilize local data to determine areas of strength and areas for improvement to complete and submit the diagnostic by the deadline. As living documents, diagnostics may be updated to reflect new information, changing circumstances, or evolving needs. Once KSA data is available, the Needs Assessment for Districts and Schools diagnostics may be revised in the Continuous Improvement Platform (CIP) as needed.
Phase Two also includes the District and School Assurances diagnostics, the District Safety Report diagnostic and the new District Trauma-Informed Approach Plan diagnostic. For questions about the Trauma-Informed Approach Plan, please contact Christina Weeter. For questions about improvement planning or the CIP platform, please contact Veronica Boller. For additional guidance on improvement planning, visit the Comprehensive Improvement Planning webpage.
2025-2026 School Testing Window Selection - Career and Technical Education (CTE) End-of-Program (EOP) Assessment
The CTE EOP Assessment is administered through E-SESS, an online assessment system from Pitsco Education.
2025-2026 CTE EOP Assessment Testing Window: Feb. 23 - March 27, 2026
Reminder– Action Requested – Select School Testing Window: District Assessment Coordinators or CTE EOP Assessment Coordinators may assign school testing windows using the 2025-2026 CTE EOP Assessment School Testing Window Selection form by Dec. 1, 2025.
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2025-2026 CTE EOP Assessment and initial TRACK Pre-Apprenticeship Assessment testing windows are Feb. 23 - March 27, 2026. Schools will select a consecutive two-week school testing window during the assessment testing window to complete all CTE EOP Assessment testing. Also, if applicable, TRACK Assessments should be completed during the same school testing window as CTE EOP Assessments. All testing must be completed by March 27, 2026. Districts and schools are responsible for scheduling and administering the assessments. CTE EOP Assessments and TRACK Pre-Apprenticeship Assessments must be administered in person pursuant to the 703 KAR 5:080, Administration Code for Kentucky's Educational Assessment Program and 703 KAR 5:070, Inclusion of Special Populations in the State-Required Assessment and Accountability Programs.
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2025-2026 Retest Window - TRACK Pre-Apprenticeship Assessment (i.e., TRACK Carpentry, TRACK Electrical, TRACK Welding) is April 15-30, 2026. Schools may schedule assessment administration anytime within the TRACK Pre-Apprenticeship Assessment retesting testing window.
E-SESS Accounts:The 2025-2026 E-SESS administrative accounts are now available for registered/renewed user accounts. For assistance with your district/school E-SESS account, please contact KDE EOP Support or Sherri Craig, Office of Career and Technical Education (OCTE), or 502-564-4286 Ext. 4226.
Registered district/school personnel E-SESS admin accounts have access to previous years’ performance results and certificates (i.e., CTE EOP, KOSSA, TRACK). District Assessment Coordinators and CTE EOP Assessment Coordinators will have access to the 2025-2026 organization in E-SESS in mid-Feb. 2026 to prepare for testing administration. More details will be forthcoming.
Resources: Visit the CTE EOP Assessment web page for more information.
Critical Deadlines: Schools must meet CRITICAL DEADLINES for students to be eligible to test. Note: A student must be identified as a “concentrator” and have at least two credits in the pathway in the Technical Education Database System (TEDS) data by the Feb.1 deadline to be eligible to test and receive a test ticket in 2025-2026 in the CTE EOP Assessment.
Assessment Regulations Training: All individuals participating in the administration of CTE EOP Assessment shall comply with 703 KAR 5:080, Administration Code for Kentucky’s Educational Assessment Program and 703 KAR 5:070, Inclusion of Special Populations in the State-Required Assessment and Accountability Programs. The required assessment regulation trainings must be completed prior to the administration of CTE EOP Assessment at the local level. Nondisclosures and Group Signature Sheets verifying training should be kept on file locally.
The 2025-2026 CTE EOP Assessment Coordinator and Administrator Manuals are scheduled to be available at CTE EOP Assessment web page by Dec. 1.
Please contact KDE EOP Support or Sherri Craig, Office of Career and Technical Education (OCTE), or 502-564-4286 Ext. 4226 with any questions.
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