Like other students, the knowledge and skills of ELL students in Sarasota County schools are assessed in a variety of ways.

Classroom assessments: assessments for ELL students should be a mix of modified traditional measures and alternative assessments (such as performance assessments and portfolios). The focus should be on documenting individual student growth over time, rather than on comparing ELL students with native-English-speaking peers. Such assessments emphasize measurement of what ELL students know and can produce over time as their English proficiency improves. The teacher of an ELL student should consider the student's language proficiency, cultural background, educational background, grade level, and developmental level. For assistance in classroom assessment and grading, refer to our comprehensive list of classroom assessment strategies and modifications.

Statewide standardized assessment: The administration of these assessments is governed by state law and regulation. The School Board of Sarasota County does not exempt ELL students from taking these assessments.

ACCESS for ELLs 2.0: ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 is a secure large-scale English language proficiency assessment administered to Kindergarten through 12th-grade students who have been identified as English language learners (ELLs). It is given annually in WIDA Consortium member states to monitor students' progress in acquiring academic English. ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 is only available to Consortium member states.

ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 is aligned with the WIDA English Language Development Standards and assesses each of the four language domains of Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing.

The assessment is available in both paper-based and online formats for Grades 1-12, while Kindergarten and Alternate ACCESS for ELLs are paper-based tests.

Purpose And Use Of Access For ELLS 2.0:

Helps students and families understand students’ current level of English language proficiency along the developmental continuum.

• Serves as one of the multiple measures used to determine whether students are prepared to exit English language support programs.

• Generates information that assists in determining whether ELLs have attained the language proficiency needed to participate meaningfully in content area classrooms without program support.

• Provides teachers with information they can subsequently use to enhance instruction and learning in programs for their English language learners.

• Provides districts with information that will help them evaluate the effectiveness of their ESL/bilingual programs.

• Meets, and exceeds, federal requirements for the monitoring and reporting of ELLs' progress toward English language proficiency.