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From Payne - What I learned is that even Level 1 of all rubrics seems quite daunting!  Also, I learned that what we expect of our ELL students in just 4 years seems almost unfair because our "Westernized" students get 12-13 years.  Also, I learned our ELL students have to take one more test each year (ACCESS) on top of the already mounting test load for all students.  What I found interesting is that WIDA heavily emphasizes grammar throughout all levels of their rubric, compared to our state standards which seems to undervalue grammar in my opinion.  I also found it interesting that the American culture has such super high expectations of our ELL students in adapting to our language and culture, but do not always support American students to be nearly as proficient in studying foreign languages....hmmm! Finally, my question is what is the projection from a time perspective of how long it takes an ELL student to move from level 1 to level 6?

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From Payne - What I learned is that even Level 1 of all rubrics seems quite daunting!  Also, I learned that what we expect of our ELL students in just 4 years seems almost unfair because our "Westernized" students get 12-13 years.  Also, I learned our ELL students have to take one more test each year (ACCESS) on top of the already mounting test load for all students.  What I found interesting is that WIDA heavily emphasizes grammar throughout all levels of their rubric, compared to our state standards which seems to undervalue grammar in my opinion.  I also found it interesting that the American culture has such super high expectations of our ELL students in adapting to our language and culture, but do not always support American students to be nearly as proficient in studying foreign languages....hmmm! Finally, my question is what is the projection from a time perspective of how long it takes an ELL student to move from level 1 to level 6?

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I learned that the six levels of English language proficiency are 1-Entering, 2-Emerging, 3-Developing, 4-Expanding, 5-Bridging, and 6-Reaching.I learned that teachers can use the rubric to analyzing student speaking and writing samples. This is beneficial in aiding teachers in scaffolding assignments for ELL students, and explore ways to enhance their abilities. I also learned that this rubric can help us non-english teachers understand what ELL students can do within our content area. I think it’s interesting that it seems the speaking rubric and the writing rubric are very similar.  I think its interesting that the rubric looks at content specific samples, because I would think the samples would be different depending on the students personal connection or feeling with the content. One question I still have is whether a student can be two different levels at the same time. Is it possible for a student to be one level on the writing rubric, and another level on the written rubric? What about across different content areas? 

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I learned that the six levels of English language proficiency are 1-Entering, 2-Emerging, 3-Developing, 4-Expanding, 5-Bridging, and 6-Reaching.I learned that teachers can use the rubric to analyzing student speaking and writing samples. This is beneficial in aiding teachers in scaffolding assignments for ELL students, and explore ways to enhance their abilities. I also learned that this rubric can help us non-english teachers understand what ELL students can do within our content area. I think it’s interesting that it seems the speaking rubric and the writing rubric are very similar.  I think its interesting that the rubric looks at content specific samples, because I would think the samples would be different depending on the students personal connection or feeling with the content. One question I still have is whether a student can be two different levels at the same time. Is it possible for a student to be one level on the writing rubric, and another level on the written rubric? What about across different content areas? 

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-Missy Esarey

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3 things I learned:
-discourse dimension is how connected the ideas are, how detailed the facts are, how appropriate the register is)
- sentence dimension describes language forms like how varied the sentence patterns are, how fluid the phrasing is and how complex the structures are
- word/phrase dimension describes vocabulary usage like how specific the word choices are, how appropriate the words are to the contex.
- Overall reflection from these three dimensions: The WIDA test measures discourse, sentence, and word/phrase dimensions. I really liked the descriptors for each of these dimensions and thought that these are great areas to be sure I am growing my students in (not just one or two, but all 3 consistently).

2 things I found interesting:
-Even level one on the speaking rubric has a generally comprehensible response. What about students who are just barely learning and their speaking is not comprehensible. Just curious.
- Perspective is mentioned in several indicators.

1 question I still have:
-The article mentioned coordinating efforts between classroom and EL teachers to scaffold learning. I wonder how we could better work together to see what students are working on in our classes to better support one another and provide a more comprehensive approach.

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3 Things I Learned:
1. There are six different levels in which students can be classified.
2. The language for the different levels is very similar with just small degrees of difference in verbs for achievement.
3. The rubrics concentrate on speaking and writing.

2 Things I Found Interesting
1. The Level 6 is just as, if not more advanced in skill level as my Pre-AP students now.
2.The language skills described in this rubric seem very complex and difficult for any student, not just EL students.

1 Question I Have:
I am not sure what level my current EL students are, but I know one of them doesn't even seem to register in the lowest category on this rubric. How do I even begin to work on the skills listed here when the student does not cannot do the most basic skills?

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3 Things I learned:
-There are 3 dimensions used to describe spoken and written language.
-The rubrics can be used to analyze student speaking and writing samples in the classroom.
-The rubrics can be helpful when planning classroom instruction and assessment.
2 Things I found interesting:
-The rubrics are very extensive.
-Levels 5 and 6 are very similar, so I imagine it may be difficult to discern which category some students fall under.
1 Question:
Is there a level before level 1? I feel like some students may not even be at level 1 yet.

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What I learned, unfortunately, was nothing. Because I am the fluent speaker of 8 languages and teach French, I stay up-to-date on  language development and use this in creating lesson plans.
What I find interesting is everything about the material. I am always glad to see the inclusion of a variety of means of understanding language mechanics in assessing a person's progress in language development. Too often in the past, this was based on  VOCABULARY development alone.
What  I would like to learn more about is ways to enhance learning for EL students, especially when they are studying yet another new world language. For example, why is it that students learn a THIRD languages so well? How can we enhance this learning?

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Click the + to add your 321 response.  I would also encourage you to include writings from your EL students and add your insight.

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3 things I learned:
1.  The WIDA Speaking Interpretive Rubric could really apply to any kindergarten student.
2. The WIDA Writing Interpretive  Rubric Levels 5 and 6 could be a guide to regular education students.
3.  The vocabulary on both the Speaking and the Writing  Rubrics are difficult because of understanding concepts that we have in English that may not be a Spanish concept.

2 Things I found interesting:
1.  The difference between Level 1 and 6 is very significant.  It would be difficult to move more than one or two levels in a year.
2.  Stephanie has a challenging job.

1 Question I still have about the material:
1. Why is Kindergarten not included?

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Click the + to add your 321 response.  I would also encourage you to include writings from your EL students and add your insight.

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Click the + to add your 321 response.  I would also encourage you to include writings from your EL students and add your insight.

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Click the + to add your 321 response.  I would also encourage you to include writings from your EL students and add your insight.

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Rubric
1. The responses from students according to the levels have three categories discourse, sentence, and vocab that are also needed for success.
2. There are speaking and writing rubric expectations.
3. I have a variety of El students at many different levels and therefore need to be more aware of where their response level is to assist in their success.

Interesting:
1. " In the Interpretive Rubrics, the dimensions of academic language development work together to describe speech or written text at each proficiency level. "

2. "The Interpretive Rubrics allow for uniformity of interpretation and reliability in the results by enabling educators to • Discuss the dimensions of academic language development and their visibility in ELL work on specific tasks or assignments across language proficiency levels • Describe what ELLs can do with language on different content-related topics in a variety of contexts • Document ELL progress over the school year by comparing language proficiency data on a series of uniform tasks • Decide on exemplars for schools or anchor papers for districts that represent each level of language proficiency. "

Questions:
1. Will the EL students have an opportunity to provide feedback on if their needs were met?

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3 things I learned:
1. There are 6 levels of English Language Proficiency: 1- Entering, 2-Emerging, 3- Developing, 4- Expanding, 5- Bridging, 6-Reaching.
2. I learned that students take ACCESS for ELL's 2.0 every year.
3. A level 6 (Reaching) student's oral language skills are comparable to the speech of English proficient students meeting college and career readiness standards.

2 things I found interesting:
1.The indicators on the rubric are generally the same for each level, with the main difference being things like, "fully comprehensible, comprehensible, and generally comprehensible".
2. I noticed the same thing on the writing rubric, except I thought it showed how to scaffold more clearly. For example, it said a level 1 (Entering) student's work would be "text that is copied or adapted from a model or source and is generally comprehensible", then in level 2 (Emerging), it builds on that by saying the student's work would have "some original text and text that is adapted from a model or source and is generally comprehensible." It continues to scaffold with level 3 (Developing) having only original text.

1 question I have:
1.  In the uses section of the rubric for Use #2, it says, "Convert the scales to student-friendly ones so that ELL's become familiar with the criteria for success." I'm wondering what the best way would be to do that for each level of proficiency, because I have students of different levels in my classroom. Some are Reaching and some are still Developing.

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*The terms for the six specific levels of speaking and writing
*The top of the rubric outlines the dimensions of academic language development
*A comprehensibility bar is at the top of each level descriptor
___________________________________*The complexity of the rubric in regards to each level of language proficiency
*The two bullet points in each dimension list specific examples of student responses. This allows the reader to make some connection.
___________________________________
*Could we see specific examples of student works in levels 3-5. This would give us a more concrete example. (visual connection)

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*3 things I learned:
-There 6 levels of English language proficiency: entering, emerging, developing, expanding, bridging, and reaching.
-Teachers can use these rubrics for 3 main purposes: to understand ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 Speaking and Writing scores, to analyze student speaking and writing samples, and to interpret common speaking and writing tasks.
-ACCESS for ELLS 2.0 is taken every year.

*2 things I found interesting:
-The rubric has similar wording throughout with slight differences (fully comprehensible, comprehensible, generally comprehensible, etc.).
-A good idea for these rubrics is to covert the scale into student-friendly language so that the students are able to understand what each level means.

*1 question
Is there a certain rate of growth ELLs should be meeting to show that they are progressing?

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*Level 6  seems to be something somewhat difficult to obtain, even for native English speakers.
*According to this rubric, I am thinking a majority of our ELL students here @ CES could be  @ a level 4 (thank you Stephanie!)
*There seems to be a wide variety of specifications to grow from a level 4 to a level 6.
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* Specifically for writing, level 6 seems to be fairly advanced.
*The use of the writing rubric could also be used for the benefit of non ELL learners as well.
___________________________________
*What would be the best way to assist/support teachers (from the admin perspective) in incorporating pieces from the rubric on a daily basis in their classrooms.

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3 things learned were the 3 dimensions of spoken language. Discourse = linguistic complexity
Sentence = patterns, phrasing & complex structure & Word/Phrase = vocab.
2 things I found interesting was how involved the rubric for spoken language was and that that we will be graded on yet another kind of assessment.(this was from Stephanie's email)
1 question I have is how we can smoothly integrate the use of the rubrics along with our current rubrics for oral langauge, so that the differentiation is made but not glaringly obvious.

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3 Things Learned: 1. There are two rubrics. One for speaking and the other for writing. 2. The purpose of the rubrics is to help educators understand what writing and speaking should sound and look like at the different levels of English language proficiency for our ELL students. 3. Both rubrics have the same three dimensions and features of language development. A. Discourse Level, describes Linguistic Complexity B. Sentence Level, describes Language Forms C. Word/Phrase Level describes Vocabulary Usage 2 Things that I found interesting: 1. I found that the expectations on the rubrics are very similar. 2. A student-friendly version of the rubric exist so that ELL students can better understand how to improve their writing and speaking skills. Questions that I still have: 1. How does an ELL's students interpretation of something that is presented orally or written compare to their ability to speak and write a response? Are they able to comprehend better than they can reply? 2. Do they understand the student-friendly version of the rubrics?

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3 Things I learned:
1. The 6 levels are applied to both speaking and writing
2. Students take ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 every year.
3. While waiting on speaking and writing scores, these rubrics can help teachers explore ways to enhance ELL's oral and written language development

Interesting:
1. The rubrics afford teachers the opportunity to convert the scales to student-friendly ones so that ELLs become familiar with the criteria- This is so important. If we expect our students to succeed, they need to understand exactly how to reach success.
2. The rubrics afford teacher opportunity to collaborate with each other in co-planning- As a new teacher, I appreciate any extra time a veteran teacher takes to co-plan with me.

Question:
How long is the wait period between the time the ELL students are tested and when they recieve their results?

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3 Things I Learned

I can use the scores on their ACCESS for ELL’s test in several ways to help me figure out what students need to improve upon and what I can do to help them.

The test takes into account linguistic complexity, language forms, and vocabulary usage.

The interpretative rubric explains what exactly each level means and I am now able to understand how to read it.

2 Things I Found Interesting

I like the idea of converting the test scales so that students can understand and become familiar with the criteria. I would be interested in learning a good way to do this.

Being an English teacher, I found reading the rubrics hugely helpful, because I require the students to complete tasks related to writing and language development very frequently. I like the idea of documenting progress throughout the school year, particularly in relation to their writing skills as they practice writing in English class. I would also be interested in learning some ways that I can help them to develop these skills.

1 Question I still Have

I am curious what exactly the test involves that is given to the students yearly. What form does it take and how is it scored?

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3 Things I Learned
I can use the scores on their  to help modify their assignments

The test looks at their linguistic complexity and vocabulary usage.

The interpretative rubric explains what each level means...very helpful!

2 Things I Found Interesting

Converting the test scales so that students can understand the criteria.

Being able to document students' progress throughout the year is crucial to helping them move levels.

1 Question I still Have

Why can't we give this more times per year? This would help with expectations!

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3 things
discourse how connected are the ideas
sentences varied sentence patterns
word phrase how appropriate are the words for the content

2 things interesting
I think it is important students know why they got the grade for the writing assignment. This will help the student understanding.

If this was used at the start of the new year, 9 weeks, or semester it will help monitor progress or decline in student work.

1 question
How are we going to implement the rubrics throughout courses?

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3 Things I learned:
*ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 is required every year.
*There are 3 dimensions of academic language development.
*The interpretive Rubric affords teachers the opportunity to collaborate with each other.
2 Things I found Interesting:
* The WIDA Writing Interpretive Rubric looks similar to a rubric I used last year to assess third grade writing.
*I think as ant Art teacher it would be very beneficial to me to have have access to this information and be able to collaborate with the homeroom teacher so that I could reinforce during my class period.
1 Question I have:
Having several students in several classes would it be possible to have a master list of the students and their level in order to develop and adapt learning for their ability?

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3 things learned:
--I learned how the rubric is constructed and see it is very complex.
--I have a better understanding of what the 6 different levels of English language proficiency are and how they are determined for a student.
--I learned why it so difficult to progress to levels 5 and 6 based on the complexity of meeting language fluency.
2 things for more learning:
--Data on average progression from one fluency level to the next.
--The weight of the dimensions of academic language development  affecting the level of English language proficiency?
1 Question I still have:

--How can classroom teachers  use this information to help construct and support meaningful ways for students to progress?

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3 things I learned:
The WIDA rubrics are broken down into three domains and six proficiency levels.  The second thing that I learned is that the students are tested very year. I also learned that there is a rubric for both spoken and written language.
2 Interesting facts:
I feel that testing is important for students to understand their current level of proficiency so that they can gauge where their progress is. It is also interesting that now teachers who may not have a foreign language background can more effectively work with English Language Learners.
1 Question:
Would it be a benefit to test the students more frequently than they currently do?

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3 Things I learned:

1. Rubrics are used to assess language expectations from written to oral communication.

2. Differentiated modes of assessment and instruction help to reach EL learners.

3. Sentences are composed of patterns, phrasing and words and/or phases.

2 Things I found to be interesting:

1. I would like to know to what extent our EL learners are scoring significantly lower than EL learners from different districts and to what extent their socio-economic status impacts not only the ways in which they are identified but also their access to resources.

2. I would also like to know to what extent EL students perform more successfully on tasks than their peers and how the assessment tools adequately measure this aspect or don’t.

1 Question I have about the material:

1. What data is our school district looking at to correctly identify that an EL student’s performance in class is impacted by other aspects? For example, when the data is disaggregated, are there trends in female EL students, or students from a particular graduation class, etc?

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3 Things I learned...
I learned the features of the rubric. Specifically, how the scales would help me understand the various levels of English language proficiency.
As well, I understand the rubric  is a tool for me to use when working with English language learners.
Lastly, I learned the various levels and the criteria for each level.
2 Things I found interesting...
Most of the levels on the rubric require a comprehensible response.
As well, the complexity of the language skills appears very advanced.
One question I have,
is what the test looks like when given to ELL students. At what point during the school year is it given?

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3 Things I learned:

- The number of levels for Speaking and Writing
- Different types of vocabulary plays a big part in which level they are placed in
- How the rubrics can be used to assist students in the classroom.

2 Interested in learning more about:
- How do ESL teachers work on getting their students to the next level on the rubric
-  How non ESL teachers can assist in students reaching the next level on the rubric.

1 Question:
How does the assessment give you the different indicators on the rubric? Meaning, does the test itself place them somewhere or do you have to decipher on your own where each student fits?

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1.  The rubric is specific for each level.
2.  The level 5 and 6 are very close to being the same with only small changes in wording.
3. Kindergartners are not tested on this scale (until first grade)

1. Each level of the rubric is broken even further down per each section (Discourse, Sentence, Word) with bullets to help summarize what to look for.
2.  The rubric fits most students, not just ELL in language and writing.

1. Why is Kindergarten not tested?

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3 Things I learned 1) There are six levels 2) Each of these six levels are broken into three different categories 3) Both rubrics include a lot of the same language.

2 Things I found interesting
1) How the rubric increases as you move higher.
2) How this should be used to track students progress through the school year.

1 question
How is this test administered

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3 things I learned - 1)6 levels of speaking and writing, 2) most students go through these stages, 3)Rubric has sub headings

Two things I found interesting: Kindergarten isn't listed, We are all in one of these areas not just ELL.

One question I have: When will we be able to see what our ELL students scored?

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3 things learned...
1)  I learned more about the various levels associated with the rubric.
2)  The rigor of the rubric explains why some of our new high school ENL students have difficulty advancing in levels.
3)  Successful fluency does depend on reading and writing in a variety of classes, not just English classes.

2 things interesting...
1)  As you progress in the levels of fluency, it appears to become very rigorous.
2) I'd like to know, on average, how long does it takes students to progress to level 6.

1 Question I have...
1)  How have counselors supported progress on the WIDA rubrics?

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3 things I learned are: 1. There are tools for teachers to understand the scores and to analyze and interpret student writing. 2. There are 3 dimensions to the rubrics that describe criteria for student writing and speaking at each level. 3. There are 2 different rubrics for writing and speaking.
2 things I found interesting are: 1. Similar language was used on both rubrics. 2. The rubrics afford teachers opportunities to collaborate.
1 question I have is: Do EL students use student friendly rubrics during their small group time? Is this something we can have access to?

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I learned about the three aspects of discourse, the six levels in the rubric, and how complex this rubric is.
Interesting how difficult the upper levels of the rubric appear to be.
One question: Most instruction in the robotics class is given in demonstrations and short videos. The students work in groups of 4-5 students. How can I assess speaking in this environment?

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The first thing I learned was not to hit the plus sign below until you are ready to respond - LOL. The first thing I learned was that this RUBRIC can and probably be used for all of our students. K-2 students come to us with such different backgrounds and experiences. Using this rubric could benefit teacher with planning both reading and writing lessons. 

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The first thing I learned was not to hit the plus sign below until you are ready to respond - LOL. The first thing I learned was that this RUBRIC can and probably be used for all of our students. K-2 students come to us with such different backgrounds and experiences. Using this rubric could benefit teacher with planning both reading and writing lessons. 

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The second thing I learned is that Stephanie cannot be the only person we have to get this daunting task accomplished. We all have to know this rubric and find ways to implement this the core ideas in our lessons.
The third thing I learned:
Describing spoken and written language is a complex task. WIDA uses the terms dimension and proficiency level to describe various aspects of spoken and written language. WIDA has identified three dimensions and six proficiency levels. The dimensions are • discourse dimension, which describes linguistic complexity (e.g., how connected are the ideas, how detailed are the facts, how appropriate is the register?) • sentence dimension, which describes language forms (e.g., how varied are the sentence patterns, how fluid is the phrasing, how complex are the structures?) • word/phrase dimension, which describes vocabulary usage (e.g., how specific are the word choices, how appropriate are the words to the context?) All of this was a little overwhelming to read. I would like to sit down with Stephanie, Sally, Billie and my grade level and match these skills to our state standards and discuss was to measure student growth in these areas over the course of the year. We can't just assume with are meeting these objective. We need to tie them to a measurable assessment.
I watched the Eutopia videos you shared and found these very interesting and went along well with the rubric. I know our K-1 teachers have a morning meeting. Watching these validated the need for morning meeting but also made me think of ways to improve this time. Do our 2-4 teachers do a daily meeting? Our ELL and non-Ell students would all benefit from having this daily meeting.
Are you able to share sample questions about how our students are assessed on speaking and writing? I would love to see this and fell like others would benefit from this, too.
If you have any ideas of ways to improve my vocabulary instruction I would welcome them. My ell kids had such a long way to go. Hearing mostly if not all Spanish at home and none here at school seems like a huge obstacle for us and our students.

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3 things I learned-
1.  The rubric is very detailed.
2.The rubric gives suggestions for educators to use in their classroom.

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3 things I learned:
-rubrics can be used to analyze all students
-The rubric is very detailed
-The terms used to describe each levon on rubric, help with understanding
2 things I found interesting:
-the detailed examples under each level
-similar language used on both the speaking and writing rubrics
1 question-
Is their a student friendly version of these rubrics and examples to share with my students

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3 Things I learned:
1) There are 6 levels: 1 Entering, 2 Emerging, 3 Developing, 4 Expanding, 5 Bridging, and 6 Reaching.
2) There are 3 dimensions: discourse, sentence, and word/phrase.
3) There are slight differences in wording between the levels.

2 Things I Found Interesting:
1) Teachers can use the results for placement, grouping, and to help scaffold students.
2) Teachers can make a kid-friendly rubric to help the students understand their level on the rubric.

1 Question I Have:
I know a student gets an overall level, but they also get scored on each level of the rubric? If so, then I guess it's possible for student to be a higher level in one area and a lower level in a different area.

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Adrienne Goldman                     3 Things Learned:

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Adrienne Goldman                     3 Things Learned:

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- I gained a better understanding of proficiency levels for each rubric.
--I learned how rigorous the rubric is, especially when we consider trying to move a student from a level one to a level 4, 5, 6.
-Students and Teachers will need to understand the expectations in order to maximize success for students.

2 Things I Found Interesting (or items we need to focus on):
-Writing and Speaking must be implemented on a regular basis.
- Writing and Speaking must be assessed and feedback given on a regular basis.

1 Question I Still Have:
How do we use this information to help our ESL students on a daily basis in the classroom?  What supports to we need to provide to our classroom teachers?

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Let's try this again. My original post was not complete.
3 Things I Learned:
1.  I learned that there are six levels of proficiency in the English Language.
2. I learned that the WIDA Speaking Interpretive Rubric covers the dimensions of academic language development and the different levels of comprehension.
3. I learned that the WIDA Writing Interpretive Rubric goes over each levels' capability in "Language Forms and Conventions", "Vocabulary Usage", and "Linguistic Complexity".

2 Things I Found Interesting:
1. I found it interesting that the rubric indicates that a Level 1 might have some knowledge of basic  conventions. I was under the impression that level 1 students come in with little to know understanding of the English Language.
2. I find it interesting that when viewing the level 5 requirements, I have had a student in the past that was labeled a level 5 and they showed level 6 characteristics.

1 Question I Still Have:
1. What causes certain students to test at one level, but appear to function an either a higher/lower level? To be honest, this question applies to all students, both ELL and non-ELL.

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3 things i learned -
1) There are two different rubrics.  One for writing and one for speaking.
2) There are 6 levels of proficiency.
3) The rubrics can be helpful to plan what I am teaching!

2 Things I found interesting:
1) Levels 5 & 6 are very similar, much more difficult to identify which category someone falls into.
2) The rubrics allow for students to be in different levels for speaking and writing. ALL students are often in different levels for both of these depending on their comprehension.

1 question I have:
1) When I provide rubrics in class students are allowed to provide feedback on them as well. Do students have this option as well?

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3 things I learned:

WIDA uses 3 dimensions of academic language development.

WIDA uses 6 levels of EL proficiency, showing the progress typical students follow.

The yearly ACCESS test measures proficiency in 4 domains.

2 things I found interesting:

The differences in the language levels were interesting to read.  Where would native English language speakers fall if given the ACCESS tests at the same time?

Students can receive "user friendly" results they can understand.  I think test results are most always difficult for the average kiddo to understand.

1 thing I'd like to know more about:

At what age do most students reach Level 6, or do they? Do they receive ELL services until they reach a 6? How can music most help students who need language development?

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3 things I learned:
1. There are 56 levels of English language proficiency.
2. There are two different rubrics, one for speaking and one for writing.
3. These rubrics make the lessons we are planning easier to scaffold.
2 things I found interesting.
1. How similar the 5th and 6th levels are to each other.
2. How the transitions from level to level seem muddied.  How level 3 and 4 are hard to distinguish with all of the indicators.
1. Questions?
I have often told ELL students to watch a tv program to become more familiar with the spoken language, because English is a hard language to master. Is this okay? I know I have had students before who had never been in a classroom, or even a school and did not know their own language except to speak.

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3 things I learned
1. There are 6 different levels that can be used to categorize a student's ability.
2. The rubrics help ensure that the tests are uniform and consistent.
3. The rubrics can be used in my class as I look at my ELLs assignments so that I can provide feedback consistently.

2 things I found interesting:
1.  I found the criteria in each category to be interesting. There is a lot of material  to be covered before moving on to the next level.
2. I find the process to be very interesting. I had never seen this type of content laid out this way, but it is very easy to read and I think that I have a better grasp on how to help my ELLs.

1 question:
As a Spanish teacher, should I be encouraging my native Spanish speakers to be speaking in English more? I would love more information on where my students are now in the process or even just talking about what I can do to help them with their English proficiency.

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Three things I learned:
There are 6 levels an EL student will progress through.
There are also 6 different dimensions of academic language development.
There are many ways to utilize the rubric.
Two things I found interesting:
Many levels are similar.
The rubrics are very different although one would think writing and speaking would be closely aligned.
One question:
After level 6 do students "graduate" from EL? How long does it traditionally take a student to advance?

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Three things I learned are:
1. Six levels levels of English Proficiency
2. Three dimensions used to describe spoken & written language
3. The rubrics make a good resource for assessments and lessons

Two Interesting Things:
1. Huge difference between Level 1 & Level 6
2. That each level is divided into three sections

Q; Is WIDA, and this Rubric, ever reviewed and tweaked?

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Learned:
1. There are 6 different levels that are used to categorize students.
2. Each level can then be broken down into three different sections: discourse, sentence, and word/phrase.
3. The lower levels are able to use common phrases/words, but have trouble creating sentences. I assume this is probably similar to their understanding (especially in math) they understand a few words here and there, but due to the technical vocab and math definition of words they probably struggle to fully understand lectures.

Interesting:
1. There seems to be a jump from level 3 to level 4 where they are able to make sense of the technical vocab and can apply more than one meaning to words.
2. Level 4 in writing should be comparable to English speaking peers, but Level 5 in speaking is comparable to English speaking peers.

Question:
1. I try to differentiate for my ELL students, and typically that means focusing on the skills we cover and taking out a majority of word problems. With the new ISTEP+ pushing problem-solving (which typically means word problems) how do I differentiate for ELL students (especially level 1-3 who probably won't understand the problem or be able to write a solid answer), but still prepare them to pass state testing?

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-The rubrics are expansive and exhaustive.
-There are three dimensions and six levels of proficiency.
-These rubrics seem to be clear and quite user-friendly.

2 Interesting Things:
-Level 1 doesn't seem to accommodate brand new ELLs. It seems to assume that ELLs will have some background/familiarity with Englidh.
-Native English-speaking students could benefit from a similar rubric and instruction based on the "Speaking" rubric.

1 Question:
How many students actually reach Level 6, and what is the average time it takes to get them there?

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Janet Wagner
The rubric focuses on speaking on writing and speaking
There are 6 levels of proficiency
Level 5 and 6 are very close
Interesting
Rubrics can be used for planning
Level 1 is still difficult to access
Question:
What support is available for students with no English

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3 Things I learned:
*There are 6 different levels in which students can be classified.
*Most students will go through the stages.
*The rubric mostly focuses on speaking and writing.

2 Things I found interesting:
*Students can receive results they understand!
*Teachers can collaborate on the rubric.

1 Question I have:
*What about preschool? How do I help those students? Do I just keep chugging along as I have been and exposing them to language?

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3 things I learned:
1. I have paid pretty good attention to previous training because I remembered a lot of the terminology.
2. The rubrics evaluate both spoken and written language.
3. The rubrics explained what I should be looking for with my ELA students in better detail.
2 things I found interesting:
1. That someone who is a level 6 may be proficient with English than some of my students who have grown up with English as their native language.
2. I liked that there was a student version which was less technical and intimidating for them to understand.
1 Question
1. The rubrics are so extensive that I wonder if they are really all that user friendly for the evalator?

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The three things I learned included:
-There are 3 dimensions and 6 proficiency levels.
-Teachers have 3 primary purposes for using the rubrics.
-The rubrics have a comprehensibility bar and two bullets under each dimension that further explains, in detail, student responses for that "lpl" for that dimension.
Two things I though were interesting were:
- the fact that the English language proficiency levels help us as teachers to better identify the progress each individual student is making, and helps us to map this progress in hopes of adapting their work to achieve more success.
-I would like to learn more about each of the proficiency levels and what the process was to limit the levels to just 6.
One question:
-I have had several students over the years in my classes, both regular ed. and special area, that I'm questioning whether they would have even met enough proficiency to be included in level 1. Is there an area below level 1?

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3 Things I learned:
1. There are six different levels in which students are categorized.
2. Even as an art teacher, I will be able to use students' rubrics to ensure students understand the assignment and material.
3. There is a rubric for speaking and one for writing.

2 things I found interesting:

1. Even though some of my students speak very well, their comprehension of directions isn't as good as I thought it was.

2. The rubrics are very in depth.

1 question I have:

Will we be notified when students progress to the next levels of proficiency?

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3 things I learned:
1. There are 6 levels of criteria for each of the rubrics.
2. Knowing what each level looks like is much easier if you've worked with ELL kids. I can picture a kid that I've had at almost each level and that helps me visualize what that level looks like. It would be hard to know exactly what a level might look like if you hadn't worked with ELL kids before and seen any on that level.
3. I kind of always feel this way, but I can be doing more for my ELL kids by referring to this on a regular basis to see if they're growing.

2 things I found interesting:
1. In looking at the rubric, it seems that kids (or at least most of the kids I have had) can more easily advance their level in the speaking rubric than in the writing rubric. I feel like the kids pick up on the speaking part easier, but then having to not only go through the same thinking process (gathering info, synthesizing info, and then presenting it) is easier for them to do when they talk instead of when they write. I'm mostly thinking of this because two of the kids I have in my class now seem to be pretty fluent speakers, but struggle with the writing part. I guess because it's an extra step to not just say it but to get it on paper and have it make sense.
2. It reminds me of the TAP rubric in the way it's set up, where you're having to figure out the minute differences between each level to advance your kids.

1 thing I want to know more about:
The rubric refers to having an appropriate "register" and I'm not sure I know what it means by that.

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I learned that there are 6 levels of proficiency, that each level succinctly describes how the student should be performing in my  class and that this rubric can be utilized to motivate my classroom differentiation, so that I can improve my ELL students' understanding.
I found it interesting that there is not a rubric for reading comprehension. I also found the use of descriptors and adjectives to separate the levels interesting (I may steal a few for my own rubrics in the future). Are the students made aware of the level they are at in each discipline and are they shown a translated version to better there understanding?

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Jill Rhoades

3 things I learned:
1.  The six levels of English language proficiency are 1-Entering, 2-Emerging, 3-Developing, 4-Expanding, 5-Bridging, and 6-Reaching. They describe the path of language development that students typically follow over time.
2.  There are 3 dimensions to describe written and spoken language. They are: discourse,  which describes  how connected are the ideas, how detailed are the facts;  sentence dimension, which describes language forms; and  word/phrase dimension, which describes vocabulary usage.
3. The rubrics help teachers describe what ELLs can do with language on different content-related topics in a variety of contexts.

2 things I found interesting:
1. descriptions are left to subjective interpretation and could overlap
2. Much easier to advance in discourse than in the written language!

A question, I think it was asked already but is there a level before level 1? And what do you do when a student is not progressing through a level?

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1. The 6 levels, I originally thought there were 5.
2. Use of the rubric through out instruction. Also can be helpful to non ELL students.
3. The rubrics touch on writing and speaking but can be used for other areas.

Question I have? Can I use this for my SPED students and also use it as an intervention/data collection tool

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Jaime Lamkin                             3 Things I learned:

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Jaime Lamkin                             3 Things I learned:

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1) These rubrics can be used to evaluate the speaking and writing of our ELL students.
2) Linguistic complexity, language forms, & vocabulary usage are the components.
3) There are 6 levels.
2 Things I Found Interesting:
1) The complexity of the rubrics.
2) The discerning characteristics between the 6 levels.
1 Question
1) What tools are available for teachers with students on the lower levels to help bridge the gap in the language divide?

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3 things I learned:

1.  I learned that there is a very complex rubric to use when deciding which level a ELL student is in either writing or speaking.
2.  By utilizing the rubric, teachers can focus on the needs to improve a student's level.
3.  By deciding on improvement for each student, teachers can use the three dimensions to decide which area to focus on.

2 things I found interesting

1.  I found the rubrics being interesting as they are very distinguishable and precise on each level.  It would be interesting to use them to place a level for each student.
2. The writing and speaking rubrics are both similar and different. It reminds us how connected the two are yet different too.

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1 question:

Is there a lower level that 1? Some students are unable to reach even the level 1?

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I learned....
1. there are 6 levels of classification
2. the rubric grades both speaking and writing
3. This rubric can also be used for other content areas.
I found it interesting that...
1. This rubric can be helpful to all students, not just ELL students.
2. The English language can be difficult for even native English speakers.

Questions:
Is level one truly level one or is there a base before jumping into that level one column?

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Three things I learned:
1. The rubrics identify a variety of different proficiency levels that students may demonstrate.
2. The rubrics can be used to help identify the skills that students possess at various proficiency levels.
3. There are separate rubrics for writing and speaking.

2 things I found interesting:
1. There are three different dimensions that make up the rubrics.
2. The specificity of the language dimensions are interesting to me as a language arts teacher.

1 question:
How can classroom teachers be a greater asset for students, and how can classroom teachers most practically and effectively make adaptations for ESL students that still expose them to all grade-level standards?

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3 things I learned:

-          I learned there are three dimensions and six proficiency levels.  (I have always thought there were just beginning, intermediate and advanced in learning a language)

-          The dimensions are very specific in what they measure which is great for assessing where our ELL students currently are and helps us determine strategies which can help them improve in these dimensions.

-          I was not aware there was a rubric teachers could use to determine a students level.

2 things I found interesting:

-          I am certified in TEFOL, however the training I completed for this certification is not as in depth as WIDA.

-          I thought looking at the rubrics was very interesting, I like how they give bullet points for the information teachers can use to determine student levels.

1 Question I still have:

-           I do not understand what ACCESS means.

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3 things I learned:
* There are three dimensions: Discourse (Linguistic Complexity), Sentence (Language Forms), Word/Phrase (Vocab Usage)
* That there are 6 levels of English Proficiency: 1-Entering, 2-Emerging, 3-Developing, 4-Expanding, 5-Bridging, 6-Reaching.  For some reason I thought there were only five.
* That the rubrics are very detailed in each dimension under each level.

2 things I found interesting:
*That Level 6 Reaching in both Speaking and Writing are comparable to students meeting college and career readiness standards. They are prepared for the English speaking world.
* How truly this is a team effort to support these students in and out of the classrooms.

1 Question I still have:
* Is there a form or something that I can be documenting in Math to show growth with speaking and writing?

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Learned 1: The rubric can be used for understanding ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 Speaking and Writing Scores.

Learned 2: The rubric can be used for analyzing Student Speaking and Writing Samples in the Classroom.

Learned 3: The rubric can be used for Interpreting Common Speaking and Writing Tasks.

Interesting 1:  The idea of converting the scales to student-friendly ones so that ELLs become familiar with the criteria for success.

Interesting 2: Level 1 allows for adapted text that may contain some original language.  I didn’t realize this was allowed.

Question 1:  How much and how often should we collect evidence that correlates to this rubric?

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Courtney Budd

3 things I learned:
1.  Each rubric is broken into 3 levels of academic language development within the 6 levels of English learners.
2. The rubric can be used to help any of my second graders even without ELL students this year.
3. The three levels of academic language development can be used to help differentiate in my planning.

2 things I found interesting:
1. The two rubrics coincide well with one another so that the speaking and listening can affect each other in a positive way.
2. Even though the 2 rubrics are speaking and listening, they can be used across all subject areas.

1 question:
Is this something we also share with intervention volunteers such as Gravis and Fox who work with our lowest students or should we just work it into our own planning that we give them?

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3 things I learned:
- there are two separate rubrics, one for speaking & one for writing.
- there are six levels of classification for English language proficiency on both rubrics.
- both rubrics are broken down into three dimensions: discourse, sentence & word/phrase.
2 interesting pieces:
- progression from level to level appears to be very rigorous.
- instructional strategies must be differentiated based upon student level to support rubric progression.
1 Question I still have:
- What resources can I provide my staff to support them instructionally to ensure we are maximizing instruction in the classroom(s) for our ELL students?

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3 Things I Learned:
1) There are 6 levels of the rubric, wtih the 6th tier are students that are almost proficient in English.
2) The rubric can be used to help plan assignments and assessments for ELL students by knowing their levels.
3) The rubric measures 4 language domains.

2 Interesting Things:
1) The rubric is very extenstive in terms of its descpriton for each level.
2) It seems very difficult to move from level to level.

1 Question:
How long does it take for a student to go from level 1 to level 6?

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-There are 6 levels of speaking and written language
-There is a student-friendly version available for the students
-The rubric focuses heavily on grammar

2 Things I found interesting:
-The lowest level of the rubric assumes that students have the basic knowledge of English
-The rubric is very specific from one level to the next.

1 Question:
How do I communicate with a student who seems to not even be at a level 1? I have offered him the Pearson in Spanish, yet he has chosen the English version. Does this mean that he understands more than he appears to????

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3 Things I Learned:
1. There are three components to each level which help further break down what you can expect your students to be able to do.
2. As students get more fluent, the differences in the levels become smaller and less noticeable. For example, in level 5 speakers, responses are comprehensible, but for level 6 speakers, they are "fully comprehensible".
3. Knowing the levels my students are on can help me plan more purposefully for my lessons, particularly in writing, so that I know how I should expect to accommodate them.

2 Things I Found Interesting:
1. It seems like it would be difficult for any first grade student to reach the higher levels of the writing rubric, not just the ELL students.
2. I also think it would be challenging for most first grade students to reach the higher levels on the speaking rubric, specifically because of the vocabulary expectations.

1 Question I Have:
Since I noted a couple times that it would be difficult for many first grade students to reach the higher levels, is there any sort of guideline as to what age a child typically reaches each level?

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3 Things I learned:
1. There are rubrics for both speaking and writing.
2. There are 3 dimensions and 6 levels.
3. How rigorous the rubric is.
What I found interesting:
1. The amount of material that is covered to move to the next level.
2. From response 3 above, the many areas covered by the rubric.

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1. Rubric concentrates on reading and writing.
2. Helpful when planning instruction.
3. Level 5 and 6 are very close.

2 things I find interesting are: Level 1 students might have some basic knowledge of English. I thought they had no understanding. 2. Most of the rubric focuses on grammar and comprehension. What about Math?

Question: It is very difficult to service ELL students with a learning disability when they don't understand what you are saying. What are some strategies to deal with this barrier

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3- ways that teachers can use the WIDA rubric:

• Understanding ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 Speaking and Writing scores

• Analyzing student speaking and writing samples

• Interpreting common speaking and writing tasks

2- things I found interesting:

The WIDA rubric is updated every year.
The rubric helps us understand where our ELL student is academically and socially in regards to communicating orally and visually.

1- question:

Like students with IEPs, should we be giving accommodations/modifications to ELLs in class? Specifically regarding assignments and assessments

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3 Things Learned
1-That the 6 levels also have classification names.
2-That there are also dimensions of academic language development.
3-I gained a better understanding of the depth of each rubric.

2 Things Interesting
1-The higher the rubric level the more rigor involved for student advancement.
2-The depth of the rubic should help educators get a better understanding on how they can help each of their ELL students.

Question
What can a teacher do if they feel the WIDA test results doesn't match their performance in their classrooms?

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Three things learned:
1. There are six proficiency level that seem pretty well defined and are reasonable.
2.  The three dimension levels are also pretty well defined and well thought out.
3. There are three primary purposes for use by teachers.
Two things interesting:
1. What a challenge it is for ELA students to mainstream into our schools.
2. What a challenge it is for us teachers to help them.
One thing I would like to learn about:
What is available to ELA students outside of normal classroom environments to get them up to speed?

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Three things I've learned:
1. Language proficiency is classified into six levels with some overlap and similarities.
2. The rubric is complex and focuses on ideas and how they are supported by details is different for each proficiency level.
3. Speaking and writing rubrics have the same features of language development: linguistic complexity, Language forms, vocabulary usage.
Two things I found interesting:
1. The criteria for speaking and writing assessments are similar.
2. Writing rubric seems like a useful tool for evaluating  non ELL learners.
My Question:
How student friendly rubric is comprehensible Ell learners? How much coaching they get in effort to understand the requirements?

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1. Because of my unfamiliarity with the rubric, most of the information offered was new. 2. I was  surprised  at the fact there were  six levels of classification.  3. The rubrics seemed to be very specific, especially in the areas of oral and written presentation.
-There is more attention paid to grammar than that of those who already speak English. Plus, the complexity of the skills expected may be too difficult for those who are brand new to the language.

Because much of what we do in theatre is performance based, how will this rubric help?

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1. There are six levels at which ELL students can be evaluated.
2. ELL students are evaluated annually.
3. Students are not only evaluated for their speech.

2 Things I Found Interesting:
1. Looking at the rubrics and comparing them to my ELL student’s level, I don’t see their performance matching
2. Both the reading and writing rubrics are very similar.

1 Question:
What should be my first step be if I have a student performing well below the level he is evaluated

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3 Things I Learned
1. Rubrics are broken into 3 areas: discourse level, sentence level, and word/ phrase level.
2. Student performance is rated in one of 6 levels.
3. Student performance is measured on 6-7 different characteristics?

2 Things I Found Interesting
1. The phrase ""occasional control in use of oral language to convey meaning."
2.The idea that level 1 includes copying of language from a prompt.

1 Question:
How are students with low cognitive or verbal abilities due to disabilities affected by this?

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3 Things I learned:
1. Each of the six levels have three different types of levels within them to help break down the rubric even more to really understand each student.
2.  I learned that level 4 ELL, who I have always thought of as higher ELLs, still have many expectations under this rubric.  Some of my students in recent years or even this year at this level always seemed to be at a good level to me.
3. The Writing Interpretive Rubric has really high expectations.  My question to go along with this: Is this in general for all varieties of writing? Personal narratives, responding to literature, and writing friendly letters are all examples of different types of writing. What is generally used when accessing this?

2 Things I found interesting:
1.The level 1 expectations  are high for students that come in not speaking any English at all.   A level 1 student that just started today is or should be at a different level than a level 1 student that's been here for a few months.
2. I find it interesting that level 1 and 2 have copying down as an expectation, when general education kids have issues with copying things down correctly.  I see this being even more difficult for these students since many of the words may not be known to them.

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3 Things I learned
1. There are 6 levels.
2. The changes in wording is similar to the TAP rubric in the way that they add a task or make it a little more difficult.
3. Each level builds on the previous. ABC - ABCD - ABCDE...

2 Things that I found interesting
1. No Kindergarten
2. State Testing - Why do we not strive to meet their level in giving the test...put everyone on a level playing field?

1 Question that I have
Do we see many of the kids, who don't start high on the rubric, make it to the top? I'm guessing most of the kids who make it there are the ones who come to us young.

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3 Things I Learned:
1. The rubrics mainly focus on writing and speaking and can be used to assess classroom work samples that focus on these concepts.
2. There are six different levels of English language proficiency.
3. ELL students have to take ACCESS along with the standard tests given to their fellow peers.

2 Things I Found Interesting:
1. I was surprised at how complex the rubrics are. Although I understand that there are a lot of concepts the students need to be evaluated on, I never dreamed that it would look like this.
2. How difficult it could be deciding which level a student may fall on. I guess I thought there would be a more clear distinction, but I could see how it would take many work samples and a lot of collaboration between the student's teachers to determine the true level, just to be sure.

1 Question I Have:
What is the timeline when it comes to testing an ELL student? I am curious how it compares to SPED testing.

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3-That the rubrics focus on writing and speaking and then are broken into deeper categories like linguistic, language, and vocab.
*That the rubric focuses on oral and expression skills.
*That the rubric doesn't have kindergarten.

2-Just like the rubrics I use on goals it is hard because a student could fit in two levels.
*Level 6 on speaking in linguistics is hard to understand with 'register'.  Like you are 'registering' by understanding?

1-What do you do when you have a student in 2 categories? Do you choose the lower?