Tuesday, May 25, 2021
State Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor recently announced the adoption of revised Standards for English Language Development.
The updated Wisconsin Standards for English Language Development were written by the WIDA Consortium, an organization dedicated to researching, designing, and implementing a high-quality, standards-based system for K-12 multi-language learners. The standards further support students’ social, instructional, and academic language proficiency in four academic areas: language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. WIDA has combined and extended the four domains to represent interpretive (listening, reading, viewing) and expressive (speaking, writing, representing) modes of communication.
Co-chairs representing Wisconsin in the revision process were:
• Emily Miller, CREATE for STEM Professional Learning Associate Researcher
• Robin Rivas, CESA 2 Language Acquisition Consultant
In January 2020, a public feedback period was announced on the need for revision of the Standards for English Language Development. In March 2020, the council recommended revision, and WIDA facilitated the revision process based on their public survey results. The English Language Development Committee reviewed WIDA’s revised English Language Development Standards for alignment with Wisconsin Academic Standards and connection to College and Career Readiness.
Wisconsin Academic Standards specify what students should know and be able to do in the classroom and serve as goals for teaching and learning. Authority to adopt academic standards rests with locally elected school boards.
To learn more about the standards review and revision process, visit the DPI Academic Standards web page.