August 2026 WISE Insights

Data Quality Outreach: Year-End Data Quality Outreach Calls Begin

It’s August, and a new school year has begun! As your LEA prepares and collects enrollment data for the ’26-27 school year, don’t forget the ’25-26 year-end data! 

This important data – student demographics; roster, including Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses; discipline; program records (e.g., special education records, food service, language instruction); attendance, enrollment data, and graduation status – is the bulk of the data collected for the December Student Snapshot. 

When it comes to Partner Support’s data quality outreach calls, the old adage is true, “No news is good news.” DPI reaches out to schools based on how their data is looking in certain categories (e.g., enrollment, economically disadvantaged data…). If you hear from us, please pick up! If you miss our call, feel free to give us a call back, or submit a Help Ticket if you cannot resolve the data quality alerts after reading the associated Knowledge Base Articles and working with your SIS representative.

You can attend our weekly WISE User Group Webinar, every Tuesday at 1:30 p.m.  and ask questions to real DPI staff about your WISEdata reporting. 

Want to be more connected? Join the WISE Community! You can direct questions to the Community and join up with other LEAs with the same SIS vendor to help each other troubleshoot data validations, reporting steps, and more. 

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App Feature: WISEhome Transition to MyWisconsin ID: Reminder of Timeline

The DPI is upgrading our authentication systems, transitioning from Web Access Management System (WAMS) to MyWisconsin ID through September 2026. 

Here’s a timeline of events for our transition:

• Now: If you already sign in with Google, you can keep signing in with Google. Alternatively, you can start signing in to WISEhome with MyWisconsin ID.
• As soon as possible: Users who previously signed in with WAMS need to transition to MyWisconsin ID or Google sign-in to ensure a smooth transition experience. 
• September 30, 2026: WAMS will be deactivated for WISEhome. 
• October 1, 2026: Google and MyWisconsin ID will be the only login options.

Did You Change Your Student Information System (SIS) This Summer?

If you did, please submit a Partner Support Help Ticket. DPI’s Partner Support team specializes in helping you keep your LEA data flowing to DPI. You can read our SIS Conversion Guidance webpage as well. 

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WISEdash Featured Dashboard: Exploring WIDA ACCESS to Inform Systems and Practices 

Each year, school districts receive WIDA ACCESS (formerly ACCESS for ELLs) results, valuable data that reflects the English language proficiency growth of multilingual learners across Wisconsin. These results are more than just a compliance measure; they are essential tools for evaluating student progress, identifying patterns, and shaping effective instructional programming for English learners (ELs). 

 As you review your district’s ACCESS results this year, consider these guiding questions: 

• What trends do you notice in students’ English language proficiency by grade level, student group, or years in program? 
• Are ELs making expected gains in proficiency across multiple years? 
• How are long-term ELs performing, and what might this indicate about program supports? 
• Are students on track for exiting EL status, and how does this compare to statewide expectations? 

ACCESS Results Overview in WISEdash for Districts 

You can begin your analysis by visiting the ACCESS dashboard in WISEdash for Districts, ACCESS Results by Subgroup. The first chart displays overall performance levels which can be viewed for All students or use the Group by filter: grade level. Students are placed into one of six performance levels: 

1. Entering 
2. Beginning 
3. Developing 
4. Expanding 
5. Bridging 
6. Reaching 

For current ELs, their ELP code (1-5) reflects their level of English proficiency, with 1 indicating minimal proficiency and 5 representing near proficiency. Students who have exited EL status are assigned an ELP code of 6, indicating full English proficiency. 

The next chart displays the Overall Average Scale Score by grade level, while the final visual on this dashboard is the ACCESS Results by Subgroup Crosstab, a powerful tool for deeper analysis. 

Dynamic Crosstabs: Dig Deeper 

Using the ACCESS Results by Subgroup Crosstab, try setting the “Years in ELL” as columns and “grade” as rows. (TIP! Use the arrow next to “Years in ELL” to sort values in order from 0-13.) 

Generally, students are expected to progress through ELL services within 4-6 years. This view helps you see trends and identify students who may be in EL services beyond that range, indicating a need for additional review or support. If you have access to student-level data, the numbers in this chart are drillable, allowing you to view individual students for deeper analysis. 

When reviewing EL programming, consider: 

• To what degree are ELs making gains in proficiency? Use the chart on page 9 in Chapter 5 in the EL Policy Handbook for guidance. 
• What other data do we collect to validate these findings? Use Chapter 15 of the EL Policy Handbook, using 15a Observational and 15b Artifacts for additional information on the Multiple Indicator Protocol. 

Looking at Trends Over Time 

To see performance over multiple years, use the ACCESS Performance Categories dashboard. This dashboard provides: 

• Overall performance trends by year 
• Performance by ACCESS testing domain (Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing) 

Also try the ACCESS results - All Subgroups dashboard, which allows you to disaggregate data by student groups without applying filters. 

Visit the WISEdash for Districts: ACCESS Dashboard webpage for information about the data. 

ACCESS Growth and Longitudinal Analysis 

The ACCESS Growth dashboard is essential for evaluating the effectiveness of EL programming. This dashboard is updated later in the summer after growth projections can be calculated. This dashboard shows: 

• Overall growth levels 
• Growth by school statewide  
• Growth by school within your district 
• Crosstab chart to explore different data intersections 

The ACCESS Current and Former EL dashboard is also updated later to provide additional insights into long-term progress and support needs. 

For users with individual student access, drilling into a student’s progress over time and on-track status can inform both instructional decisions and support planning. 

Need Support? 

See the two documents on the WIDA ACCESS Data and Reporting page for more information on finding and using EL data in WISEdash for Districts.  

Every CESA in Wisconsin has qualified data specialists available to support you with ACCESS data analysis. Whether you need help interpreting results, planning programming, or designing custom dashboard views, your CESA Data Specialist can provide: 

• Coaching 
• Professional learning  
• Customized district support 

Learn more when you visit the WISExplore Coaching and Additional Support webpage. 

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Upcoming Events

View all trainings listed below on the WISE Events Calendar

WISE Data Flow and Enrollment Training (In-Person)

10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at each location:

• Monday, September 14: Fennimore 
• Thursday, September 17: Oshkosh 
• Monday, September 31: Pewaukee 
• Tuesday, October 6: Wausau 
• Wednesday, October 7: Ashland 

WISE Snapshot Prep Regional Training (In-Person)

10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at each location:

• Monday, October 26: Chippewa Falls 
• Friday, October 30: Pewaukee 
• Monday, November 2: Green Bay 

WISEstaff Preliminary Snapshot Certification Training (Virtual)

• Thursday, October 15: Teams Webinar, 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Recurring Training

• WISE User Group: September through December, Tuesdays, 1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
  • September 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, 2026
  • October 6, 13, 20, 27, 2026
  • November 3, 10, 17, 24, 2026
• WISEdata New User Training​:​ First Wednesday of the month:
  • September 2, 2026, 1:00 – 3:30 p.m.
    • expanded session for back-to-school
  • October 7, 2026, 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.
  • November 4, 2026, 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.

Recorded Training

• New User Training section of the WISE Training: Slides, Recordings, and Videos webpage. 

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