From NYSESLAT to WIDA ACCESS: What New York ESL Teachers Need to Know

The Shift to WIDA in New York: What Changes in Real Classrooms?

Starting in 2026–2027, New York will replace NYSESLAT/NYSITELL with the English Language Proficiency system developed by the WIDA Consortium. The final NYSESLAT will be given in spring 2026, and ACCESS for ELLs begins in spring 2027.

Yes, this means a new digital test. But the real shift is instructional. This is not just a testing change. It’s a mindset change.

The Big Instructional Shift

Old Mindset (NYSESLAT Era)

Teach content.
Support vocabulary.
Test English once a year.
Hope students “pick up” academic language.

New Mindset (WIDA Era)

Teach content and language intentionally.
Identify the exact language students need to succeed.
Scaffold language across math, science, social studies, and ELA.
Track growth using clear proficiency levels.

WIDA is not just a test. It’s a framework.

Disclaimer: In this blog, the terms ESL students (English as a Second Language), ELLs (English Language Learners), and ML (Multilingual Learners) are used interchangeably. While “Multilingual Learners” is becoming the more widely accepted term, “ESL students” and “English Language Learners” are still commonly used in various contexts. My aim is to be inclusive and clear to all readers, regardless of the terminology they are familiar with.

What WIDA Includes

WIDA provides:

ELD Standards Framework tied directly to content areas (math, science, social studies, ELA, and social/instructional language).
ACCESS for ELLs, an adaptive, computer-based annual assessment (grades 1–12) measuring listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
WIDA Screener, replacing NYSITELL for identification.
Teacher tools like Can Do Descriptors, Proficiency Level Descriptors, and sample tasks.

Unlike NYSESLAT, ACCESS provides scale scores that show growth over time and aligns directly to instructional standards.

What the Shift Looks Like in Real Classrooms

The biggest change is that language instruction now happens inside content lessons, not separately.

And this is how it could look like.

In a first-grade integrated ENL math class, instead of simply solving a problem like 3 + 2 and giving the answer, students are encouraged to solve it and explain their reasoning. Emerging students might say, “I have three blocks,” developing students, “I have three blocks and two more,” and expanding students, “First, I counted three blocks. Then, I added two more. Now I have five.”

Beyond learning content-specific vocabulary, students need explicit instruction in the language required to express their reasoning. This is where academic sentence frames become essential. As Kate Kinsella emphasizes, providing structured sentence frames gives students a scaffold to organize their thoughts and communicate their reasoning clearly, supporting both language development and conceptual understanding.

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This aligns with WIDA Standard 1, which emphasizes that English learners need to understand and use the social and instructional language required for classroom interactions and discussions. Students are explicitly taught to use English to follow multi-step directions, participate in discussions, ask and answer questions, work with partners or small groups, explain their thinking, share ideas during lessons, solve minor conflicts, and clarify when they don’t understand.

Examples include statements like, “Can you explain that again?” “First we cut, then we glue,” “I agree because…,” or “I don’t understand the directions,” as well as following directions such as, “Take out your math journal and write the date.” The key focus is on academic classroom language, multi-step directions, discussion skills, expressing ideas clearly, and collaborative conversation.

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In a first-grade integrated ENL science class, students move beyond one-word observations about leaves to describing, comparing, and explaining: emerging students say, “The leaf is green,” developing students, “This leaf is darker than that leaf,” and expanding students, “Because it is dry, it feels crunchy.” Beyond identifying observations, students need explicit instruction in the language required to describe, compare, and reason scientifically. Academic sentence frames, such as “I notice…,” “This is different because…,” or “I think it is… because…,” give students a scaffold to organize their ideas and communicate their reasoning clearly. This supports both language development and scientific understanding.

In a first-grade integrated ENL social studies class, students progress from identifying a map to describing its content: emerging students say, “This is a map,” developing students, “This is a map of our school,” and expanding students, “The key shows what the symbols mean.” Here, academic sentence frames help students express spatial and social concepts clearly, for example: “This shows…,” “On the map, we can see…,” or “The symbol means….” Providing structured frames allows students to engage in discussions, explain ideas, and make comparisons—supporting both content learning and language growth.

Across all subjects, students are not just giving answers—they are developing language while engaging deeply with content.

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If you’re looking for support in teaching both language and grade-level content at the same time, this resource makes it easier to integrate academic English with first-grade concepts. The WIDA ACCESS Test Prep for ESL – First Grade includes five thematic practice tests covering Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing, all differentiated into WIDA-aligned tiers.

Each test is tied to first-grade content themes—like math, science, social studies, and school routines—so students build language while engaging with meaningful content. Additional supports, such as teacher model texts, vocabulary cards, language frames, and visual routines, help you pre-teach or reinforce key academic language without extra prep.

Whether you use it for warm-ups, mini-assessments, or practice tests, this resource is designed to save time, differentiate with confidence, and help students communicate clearly and effectively in every domain. Explore the materials and see how intentional language instruction can fit seamlessly into your lessons.

Addressing Teacher Concerns About ACCESS

In teacher groups, some common concerns about the annual ACCESS test include test length, “good guessers,” newcomers sometimes scoring higher than expected, advanced students struggling to show growth, and the Speaking portion feeling stressful.

ACCESS measures four domains separately and is adaptive, which can tire younger students. Familiarity helps: WIDA strongly recommends showing the official 15-minute test demo beforehand. It introduces item types, recording tools, and platform features, and students can re-watch or practice immediately afterward, which reduces anxiety.

In the Writing portion, students type their answers on computers (except for Kindergarten), which many teachers find challenging because the fonts are not always age-appropriate and students need explicit instruction on typing skills.

The Speaking test can be stressful since students record responses without live feedback, so practicing recording throughout the year helps normalize the format. First-grade passages are on grade level, which can make the test challenging even for native speakers, a concern many teachers note.

Understanding Proficiency Levels

WIDA uses Levels 1–6:

Level 1 – Entering: single words and memorized phrases
Level 2 – Emerging: short sentences with support
Level 3 – Developing: expanded sentences and simple explanations
Level 4 – Expanding: connected, more detailed language
Level 5 – Bridging: grade-level academic language
Level 6 – Reaching: comparable to native English peers

Levels are organized by grade clusters (K, 1, 2–3, 4–5, 6–8, 9–12), meaning expectations increase across grades.

Rough alignment with NYSESLAT:
Beginning/Emerging ≈ Levels 1–2
Developing/Expanding ≈ Levels 3–4
Commanding/Bridging ≈ Levels 5–6

What This Means for You

ENL Teachers: You now have shared language across the building and clearer collaboration tools.
General Education Teachers: Every teacher is a language teacher. WIDA makes language expectations explicit.
School Leaders: Growth data becomes clearer and instruction aligns to one coherent framework.

The Real Difference

The biggest difference between NYSESLAT and WIDA? WIDA connects assessment to instruction.

Final Thought

WIDA is about setting clearer language expectations. Rather than hoping students will “pick up” academic English on their own, we teach it intentionally across subjects every day. When language is made visible and structured, multilingual learners do more than pass tests—they thrive.

You already teach WIDA. You are not sure how to move your students from one tier to another. Check out this free How Do We Move Students from One Level to the Next? Actionable Strategies for Teachers.