WIDA ACCESS · Kindergarten to Grade 12

WIDA ACCESS Practice Tests — Kindergarten to Grade 12

Practice tests in the new 2025-26 WIDA ACCESS format for every grade-level cluster: Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grades 2–3, 4–5, 6–8 and 9–12. Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing with audio, answers, model answers and scored writing samples. Choose the cluster for your grade: the first tests of every cluster are free.

6exams

36practice tests

18free tests

Choose your grade

WIDA ACCESS for KindergartenA storybook, then Listening & Speaking, Writing and Reading, given one to one by a grown-up6 practice tests →WIDA ACCESS Grade 1Picture-based Listening and Reading, Speaking with a model student, and two handwritten writing tasks6 practice tests →WIDA ACCESS Grades 2–3Listening and Reading folders, Speaking with a model student, and two writing tasks, handwritten as in Grades 1-36 practice tests →WIDA ACCESS Grades 4–5Listening and Reading folders on school subjects, Speaking with a model student, and three typed writing tasks6 practice tests →WIDA ACCESS Grades 6–8Middle-school Listening and Reading folders, Speaking with a model student, and three typed writing tasks6 practice tests →WIDA ACCESS Grades 9–12High-school Listening and Reading folders, Speaking with a model student, and three typed writing tasks, including an argument from two sources6 practice tests →

Practise one skill, every grade

What is WIDA ACCESS?

WIDA ACCESS is the English language proficiency test that multilingual learners (English learners) from kindergarten to Grade 12 take once a year in the US states and territories that use the WIDA standards, and in Department of Defense Education Activity schools. It was called ACCESS for ELLs until the 2025-26 school year. The results show how a student's English is growing in listening, speaking, reading and writing, and states use them, with other information, to decide when a student no longer needs English language support.

Students take the form for their grade-level cluster. Grades 1-12 usually test online, where Listening and Reading adapt to the student, Speaking is recorded and Writing is typed (handwritten in Grades 1-3). Kindergarten has its own paper test, given one to one.

The six practice sets

Cluster	Domains	Writing
Kindergarten	Storybook, Listening & Speaking, Writing, Reading (one to one, on paper)	8 short items, handwritten
Grade 1	Listening, Reading, Speaking, Writing	2 tasks, handwritten
Grades 2–3	Listening, Reading, Speaking, Writing	2 tasks, handwritten
Grades 4–5	Listening, Reading, Speaking, Writing	3 tasks, typed
Grades 6–8	Listening, Reading, Speaking, Writing	3 tasks, typed
Grades 9–12	Listening, Reading, Speaking, Writing	3 tasks, typed, one from two sources

Every cluster has six complete practice tests, each built around one theme with pictures drawn for 7ESL.

Scores: proficiency levels and composites

Each domain is reported as a proficiency level from 1.0 to 6.0: 1 Entering, 2 Emerging, 3 Developing, 4 Expanding, 5 Bridging and 6 Reaching. Four composites combine them: Oral Language (Listening and Speaking), Literacy (Reading and Writing), Comprehension (70% Reading, 30% Listening) and the Overall score (35% Reading, 35% Writing, 15% Listening, 15% Speaking). In 2025-26 the scale scores were reset and new standards were set in summer 2026.

On 7ESL, Listening and Reading give an instant practice level; Writing (score points 0-7) and Speaking (Exemplary to No response) come with model answers and scored samples to rate against, and 7ESL Pro members can use the AI examiner. The full-test report shows the composites. These are practice estimates, not WIDA scores.

What changed in 2025-26

New name, new content written to the WIDA ELD Standards Framework (2020 Edition), with its five standards and four key language uses (narrate, inform, explain, argue), new writing and speaking rubrics, and a completely redesigned kindergarten test built around a storybook. All 7ESL WIDA ACCESS practice tests follow the new format.

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WIDA ACCESS — frequently asked questions

Which WIDA ACCESS test should my child practise?

Choose the cluster for the grade your child is in now: Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grades 2–3, Grades 4–5, Grades 6–8 or Grades 9–12. Inside each cluster the real online test adapts to the student, so one form fits students at every level.

Is WIDA ACCESS a pass or fail test?

No. It reports proficiency levels from 1.0 to 6.0 and composite scores. Each state decides which scores, together with other information, show that a student is ready to leave English language support.

Which languages are the practice tests in?

Everything is in English, as in the real test. Directions for young children are read aloud by the player or by a grown-up.

Are these official WIDA ACCESS tests?

No. They are original 7ESL practice materials written in the public WIDA ACCESS format. 7ESL is not affiliated with or endorsed by WIDA or the University of Wisconsin System, and practice levels are not WIDA scores.

Original 7ESL practice material in the public WIDA ACCESS format. Not affiliated with or endorsed by WIDA or the University of Wisconsin System. Practice estimates are not official scores.