Question of the Week
Q: When will Kentucky revisit the WIDA ACCESS Exit Criteria?
A: The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is reviewing the WIDA ACCESS English Learner (EL) Exit Criteria that align with the 2020 WIDA English Language Development (ELD) Standards and updates to the WIDA ACCESS assessments (WIDA ACCESS and WIDA Kindergarten ACCESS) and writing scoring rubrics. A committee of educators will collaborate with colleagues from across the Commonwealth to examine data, share expertise, and determine if changes to the current WIDA ACCESS Exit Criteria for Kentucky's ELs are needed.
The meeting was originally scheduled for September and has been rescheduled to Saturday, Nov. 14. The participants have been sent invitations to the meeting.
For questions, please contact Chris Williams.
GMAP Assurances for House Bill 500 (2026)
The 2025-2026 assessment and accountability data were publicly released on Thursday, Oct.15. Within the data files provided to District Assessment Coordinators (DACs) is a spreadsheet that includes percentages of accountable students performing at the Proficient and Distinguished levels in reading and mathematics. This data should be used to update student performance information required on each district and school website, as required by House Bill 500 (2026). See House Bill 500 (2026) Requirement to Report Academic Performance on Websites for more information.
As a reminder, the data should be displayed for each level (elementary, middle, high) of the school or district, as provided in the spreadsheet, not averaged or otherwise calculated.
Districts should update websites with the 2025-2026 student performance data by Friday, Oct. 30.
Any subsequent data files provided (e.g., post-10-day regulatory period) will require another website update within 14 days if there are changes to a district’s proficient and distinguished percentages in reading and mathematics.
Superintendents must assure that the required data has been posted on the district and school websites through the Grant Management Application and Planning System (GMAP) no later than Tuesday, Dec. 15.
The assurances are in GMAP under Application Supplements, Fiscal 2026: House Bill 500 (2026) District Website Requirements Assurances.
To access the assurances, the superintendent (not a designee) must change Status to Started. Access the assurance by selecting it in the Description section. After completing the assurance, change Status to Approved to submit.
For questions about the assurances requirement, please contact DAC Information.
For GMAP guidance on submitting assurances, please contact Lindsay McCollum via the KDE GMAP email inbox.
New WIDA Snapshots Focus on ABCs of Family and Community Engagement
WIDA has published three new WIDA Snapshots that can help district and school educators to support meaningful partnerships with Multilingual Learners (MLs) and their families. Each snapshot offers practical ideas and reflection opportunities educators can apply in the classrooms and schools. Explore the new snapshots:
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Breaking Barriers: Identify and address obstacles that may limit family participation and engagement.
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Collaboration: Foster shared responsibility and meaningful partnerships among families, educators and communities.
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Connect to Learning: Strengthen connections between home, school and learning experiences.
Find all three snapshots and related resources on the Engaging Families and Communities webpage.
For questions, please contact Chris Williams.
WIDA ACCESS Standard Setting
Find out what happened at the WIDA ACCESS Standard Setting event this summer and what the results mean for district and school educators. Read the Educators at the center of ACCESS standard setting news article to get all the information.
For questions, please contact Chris Williams.
Transferring Students in the SRD
Districts needing to request a student transfer from one district to another in the Student Registration Database (SRD) should complete the 2026-2027 SRD Transfer Request Form. This form can also be found on the Kentucky Alternate Assessment Combined Resources webpage.
Please contact Krista Mullins with any questions.
AKSA Office Hours Scheduled
The Office of Assessment and Accountability (OAA) is pleased to announce its office hour sessions for Window 1 of the AKSA for the 2026-2027 school year. Office hours will address questions specific to the Window 1 administration. The first session will occur prior to Window 1 opening, and there will be a second session prior to the close of the window.
DACs, Building Assessment Coordinators (BACs), Directors of Special Education (DoSE), and all teachers/test administrators will be able to ask questions and receive assistance during this time. The dates, times, and links to the Teams meetings below may be forwarded to any school personnel who may benefit from attending these sessions:
AKSA Office Hour (Window 1 Administration) - Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, 10 a.m.-11 a.m. ET
AKSA Office Hour (Preparing for the End of Window 1) - Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2026, 9:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. ET
Please note that the questions asked during the office hour sessions should be specific to the AKSA.
Please contact Krista Mullins with any questions.
Assessment Scores in IC
KDE strives to publish student assessment results in Infinite Campus (IC) as scores become available. KDE published the following assessment scores to districts after the School Report Card embargo period ended Thursday, Oct.15:
- 2025-2026 Kentucky Summative Assessments (KSA)
- 2025-2026 Alternate Kentucky Summative Assessments (AKSA)
- 2025-2026 Postsecondary Readiness
- 2025-2026 Alternate Postsecondary Readiness
Scores should now be available to districts. Benchmark Reports in IC can help with identifying students who did not meet benchmarks. Benchmark reports pull from IC State Edition and include scores for students currently enrolled regardless of tested site.
Student scores are matched to the extent possible, but not all students can be matched. Please email KDE data services with any questions or missing scores.
Reminder: AKSA Window 1 Testing Materials
The AKSA Window 1 testing materials will begin arriving in districts the week of Oct. 19. Please verify the contents of the shipment against the packing list within 72 hours of receipt to ensure all materials have been received.
If the materials are not received by Monday, Oct. 26, please email Krista Mullins.
Reminder: WIDA ACCESS/WIDA Alternate ACCESS Materials Ordering
The materials ordering window for WIDA ACCESS (WIDA ACCESS, WIDA Alternate ACCESS, WIDA ACCESS for Kindergarten, Large print, Braille) will be closing Thursday, Oct. 22. DACs will order test materials in the WIDA Assessment Management System (AMS) and are advised to order only the materials that are required.
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.
For questions about the WIDA ACCESS and WIDA Alternate ACCESS Test Materials Ordering, please contact Chris Williams.
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