Interpreting ACCESS 2.0 Scores
Understanding ACCESS 2.0 results can help us learn what our students can do with language. Students can have very different levels of receptive language (comprehension) than expressive language. It is important to view the overall proficiency level as well as the domain scores to really understand the student's language needs.
- 4 domain scores: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing.
- 4 composite scores: Oral Language, Literacy, Comprehension and Overall Proficiency Level.
Each of the domains and composite scores are demonstrated through a Proficiency Level (PL). The whole number reflects the student’s proficiency level, and the number after the decimal reflects how far the student has progressed within that level. For example, a student with a score of 3.7 is at proficiency level 3, and is over halfway toward achieving proficiency level 4.
ACCESS scores can show us how our students are able to comprehend and express themselves in English. Growth between two scores can additionally show us how quickly a student is growing in their English Language Development and how effectively we are addressing the language needs of language learners in our schools.
Your ELD Contact has a Comp File for your school that shows how Multilingual Learners are developing in English across years. They can walk you through the growth trends they are seeing for your grade level or for students of different language levels.
Learn more about Interpreting ACCESS scores: WIDA ACCESS 2.0 Interpretive guide
