Running Head: TEST REVIEWS 1

Test Reviews

ACCESS and COMPASS ESL Placement

Lauren Porter

Colorado State University

TEST REVIEWS-ACCESS AND COMPASS ESL PLACEMENT 2

Introduction

I chose to review the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs test and the COMPASS ESL

placement test, because both tests are pertinent for secondary education ELL students,

with whom I plan to work. I hope to work with ELL students in public schools here in

Northern Colorado. There is a growing need for ELL support in our country. The

National Center on Immigration Integration Policy published a 2011 report, based on the

2010 census, that identified 9 percent of the population of the U.S. as limited English

proficiency (LEP). Additionally, here in Northern Colorado, according to the District 6

(Greeley and Evans) English Language Development Implementation Guide (2015-

2016), based on the Weld County School District 6 (WCSD6) October count from 2008-

2014, approximately 25% of the students in the district are ELLs. All of that said, there is

a need for accurate assessment of ELLs in the country, and in the local Northern

Colorado context as well.

The ACCESS test is taken annually by all K-12 students in WIDA consortium

member states (Colorado included). Additionally, some post-secondary education centers

require ELL students to take the COMPASS ESL placement test in order to properly

place them in classes, so students I will be working with will be taking the ACCESS test,

and may be taking the COMPASS ESL test in their future. My purpose in reviewing these

tests is to gain a better understanding of the basis of the tests- which skills they assess,

how are they scored, how reliable and valid are they, etc.- as well as to compare the two

tests. This review will provide me with a general understanding of the tests purposes as

well as an in-depth analysis of each of the tests. More generally, the purpose of these test
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reviews is to give me a better understanding of the assessments that I may encounter

during my work with secondary ELL students.

Test Reviews

Overview: WIDA ACCESS for ELLS 2.0

The Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State

(ACCESS) for English Language Learners test was developed by the World-Class

Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) Consortium for ELLs in K-12 classrooms

(Fox & Fairbairn, 2011). The test is based on the standards set forth by WIDA, which can

be accessed through their website (ELD standards). WIDA was formed in 2003 through a

US Department of Education Enhanced Assessment Grant by three states in order to

develop standards and assessment, create a plan for supporting ELLs, and to comply with

legal requirements as put forth by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. According to

Fox & Fairbairn (2011), ACCESS for ELLs is set apart from other English tests under

NCLB for three reasons: (1) there are a large number of consortium states using the test

(2) there are resources to help situate the test within teaching practices and (3) WIDA has

taken care to align the test systematically with test proficiency standards and classroom

practices. The number of consortium member states is currently over thirty.

The tests principle developer is The Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) (Fox

& Fairbairn, 2011). Tables 1 and 2 below provide important information about the WIDA

test.
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Table 1

WIDA: ACCESS for ELLs Overview

Publisher: WIDA Consortium

Wisconsin Center for Education Research
University of Wisconsin-Madison
1025 W. Johnson Street, MD #23
Madison, WI 53706, U.S.A.
www.wida.us

Date of Publication: 2005

Target Population: K-12 ELLs in Consortium Member States

Cost of the Test: $23/student

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Table 2

Extended Description: WIDA ACCESS for ELLs

Test purpose High-stakes language proficiency test for

ELLs in K-12 classrooms in the U.S.
Assessment of academic and social English
in all four skills (reading, speaking,
listening, and writing). Also assesses
language used in math, science, social
studies, and language arts.

Test structure Each skill (reading, speaking, listening, and

writing) are tested through thematic
folders that are connected to the five
standards: social and instructional
language, language of language arts,
language of mathematics, language of
science, and language of social studies.
According to the ACCESS website, the
listening and reading tests consist of
thematic folders, which each have three
multiple-choice questions around a certain
theme. The folders are adaptive and a
subsequent folder is chosen for testing
based on how the student has done on the
previous folders questions. Writing and
speaking skills assessment consists of
performance tasks that are scored
according to specific scoring criteria
(WIDA interactive sample item). The
writing and speaking items that a student is
tested on are determined by his/her
performance on the listening and reading
tests. Listening takes approximately 40
minutes, reading 35 minutes, writing 45-60
minutes, and speaking 30 minutes.
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Scoring Based on the scoring criterion of the test,

students are grouped into six proficiency
levels, from 1-6 (1 being lowest and 6
being highest). 1: Entering 2: Emerging 3:
Developing 4: Expanding 5: Bridging 6:
Reaching. There are three scores produced
from the test: raw scores, scales scores
(100-600)-grade level scores in relation to
a continuum of development, which allows
for a comparison of a students progress-
and proficiency level scores (outlined
above). Confidence levels are also
reported, so that scores may be interpreted
cautiously and take into account the SEM
(Fox & Fairbairn, 2011).

Statistical Distribution of Scores

Standard Error of Measurement

Evidence for Reliability According to Fox & Fairbairn (2011), the

website lists many technical reports that
evidence the tests reliability. Technical
Report no. 1 (2006) gives information on
the conceptualization of the assessment,
based on its anchoring in the ELP standards
and discusses standard-setting and the
determination of cut-scores for each
proficiency level. Technical Report no. 4
(2007) discusses the reliabilities for
composite scores. Those reliabilities were:
Kindergarten: .937, Grades 1-2: .955,
Grades 3-5: .935, Grades 6-8: .937, Grades
9-12: .942 (2007, p. iv)
(Fox & Fairbairn, 2011)

Evidence for Validity

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Overview: COMPASS placement test

The ACT Computer-Adaptive Placement Assessment and Support System

(COMPASS) ESL placement tests were designed by ACT to help postsecondary

institutions assess incoming ESL students in order to place them into accurate ESL

classes according to their English language ability levels. Students are tested on their

grammar/usage, reading, listening, and writing abilities, and these skill-focused tests can

be used in combination with each other or used separately (COMPASS Guide).

Postsecondary institutions administer the COMPASS ESL test to students, and students

can obtain immediate results. Tables 3 and 4 provide more information on the COMPASS

ESL placement test.

Table 3

COMPASS ESL Placement Test Overview

Publisher: ACT
www.act.org

Date of Publication:

Target Population: ESL students enrolling in postsecondary

institutions

Cost of the Test:

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Table 4

Extended Description: COMPASS ESL Placement Test

Test purpose Test ESL students in grammar/usage,

reading, listening, and writing abilities.
Online platform allows for administration
of test from postsecondary institutions/IEPs
that decide to implement the test. Helps
postsecondary institutions/IEPs assess ESL
learners proficiencies and place them
appropriately into ESL courses.
Postsecondary institutions/IEPs can buy
packages based on the assessments they
want to administer (ACT Compass Internet
Version Reference Manual)

Test structure Three untimed, computer-adaptive

proficiency tests, with an optional fourth.
They are (1) ESL grammar/usage (2) ESL
reading (3) ESL listening (4) optional ESL
e-write. The grammar/usage test classifies
test items into (1) sentence elements and
(2) sentence structure and syntax. Students
choose from multiple-choice items, and the
test uses a modified cloze format. The
COMPASS Reference Manual provides an
extensive list of the grammar structures
tested. The number of grammar items
varies based on the proficiency level being
tested, ranging from 24-82 items. The
reading test consists of reading passages
and multiple-choice items. The assessment
questions are grouped into two main
categories: referring (reading explicitly
stated material) and reasoning (based on
inferences). Most reading material is from
authentic published materials that have
been edited. The reading passages vary in
length, and the passages are carefully
chosen in order to avoid ones that will
activate background knowledge for certain
students but not for others. The number of
items for each sub-skill varies according to
the proficiency level test being
administered, from 26-62 items. The
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listening test is broken into two categories:

listening for explicit information and
listening for implicit information. The
number of items also depends on the
proficiency level being tested, ranging from
20-71 items. For the e-write test, students
provide a writing sample in response to a
prompt that has been developed for various
levels. Six scores are given for writing: one
overall score (for placement purposes) and
five sub-scores for prescriptive purposes in
the domains of development, focus,
organization, language use, and mechanics.

Scoring Students are grouped into five proficiency

levels. Students will receive a quantitative
score for each domain, as well as a
descriptor of their proficiency. According
to the COMPASS Reference Manual,
students who score in the highest levels can
enter mainstream college courses. The five
proficiency levels are (1) Pre-Level 1 (2)
Level 1 (3) Level 2 (4) Level 3 (5) Level 4.
The proficiency descriptors for each skill
are provided in the COMPASS Reference
Manual.
Statistical Distribution of Scores

Standard Error of Measurement

Evidence for Reliability

Evidence for Validity The COMPASS ESL tests were based on

models of language learning from Canale
and Swain, Krashen, Chomsky, Rea,
Bachman, and others (COMPASS
Reference Manual).
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Test Comparison

Both the ACCESS and COMPASS ESL placement tests can be used to assess

students proficiencies of different language skills, and can be used for placement

purposes. Both tests seem to be widely available across the country, albeit in different

settings. While the ACCESS test is used in K-12 classrooms, the COMPASS ESL

placement tests are implemented by postsecondary institutions and IEPs to assess

students levels before they enter the postsecondary education setting.

Both tests focus on testing a range of skills, but the COMPASS ESL test focuses

on language skills themselves (grammar/usage, reading, and writing), while ACCESS

focuses on testing language skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) as well as the

language as its used in different contexts, such as language arts, math, and social studies.

While conducting research, I was able to find details on both tests, but in different areas.

For example, WIDA (ACCESS) was very explicit with the timeline of the development

of the tests, and also provided technical reports on reliability. However, I couldnt access

extensive information on the structure or number of items for the test. I was able to find

the expected amount of time itd take a student to complete the test, though. On the other

hand, the COMPASS ESL test did not have a website- instead, there were reference

manuals published (including how to implement the online system at your own

university), but I was able to access a more complete breakdown of test items. While the

COMPASS ESL reference guide went into great detail about the language structures

being tested, I was confused on the breakdown of items, because there were different

numbers of items for each skill in the test, based on the proficiency level of the test.

However, I had understood the test as one that placed students into proficiency levels, but
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those tables made it seem as though students take different proficiency level tests, and

then are given a score based on those leveled tests.

For my purposes, I am much more likely to encounter the ACCESS test,

especially because Colorado is a WIDA consortium member state. The test is based on

WIDA ELL standards, which is more reflective of public school work anyway, as schools

must implement standards in their teaching (teachers must show how they are teaching

the standards). The WIDA ACCESS test seemed to be a highly researched and revised

test, and it seemed authentic in its use in that students were tested on language skills and

language use in content areas, which is more reflective of what theyd experience in a

public school, especially if they were integrated into mainstream classrooms.

Additionally, from a practicality standpoint, the test seems useful for me, as

students are only tested once annually. My hope is to be an ESL specialist in a secondary

education setting, so I will be working with students ranging from 6th-12th grade, who

would likely take this ACCESS test, making it more useful for my purposes.
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References

ACT compass: internet version reference manual. Retrieved from http://www.act.org/

content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/CompassReferenceManual.pdf

COMPASS guide to successful ESL course placement. Retrieved from http://www.act.

org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/Compass-ESLGuide.pdf

English language development implementation guide 2015-2016. Retrieved from

greeleyschools.org

English language development (ELD) standards. Wida.us. http://www.wida.us/

standards/eld.aspx

Fox, J., & Fairbairn, S. (2011). Test review: ACCESS for ELLs. Language Testing,

28(3), 425-431. doi:10.1177/0265532211404195

Mission & the WIDA story. Wida.us. http://www.wida.us/aboutus/mission.aspx

National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy. (2011). LEP Data Brief. Migration
Policy Institute.