DOE asks board to raise ACCESS Alt exit threshold to keep students eligible for EL support longer

The Delaware Department of Education asked the State Board of Education on May 15 to revise the state’s exit criterion for the WIDA ACCESS Alternate assessment, saying the change would better align exit rates for students with significant cognitive disabilities to student success on alternate-content assessments. Dr. April McCray, the department’s director of assessment and accountability, described the request and the rationale.

"Under ESSA, states are required to hold schools accountable for English-language development as well as mastery of the regular curriculum," McCray said. She explained that the ACCESS Alt was redesigned nationally and the old cut score termed “A3” no longer exists; DOE proposes using the new "P3" performance level as the state exit threshold for the alternate assessment.

McCray told the board that the population affected is very small — about 25 students statewide in a typical year — and that under the old A3 criterion roughly 52% of those students were exiting EL services (about 12–13 students). Using the WIDA P3 cut would reduce that percentage to about 17% in DOE’s analysis, she said, keeping more students eligible for EL supports while still seeking parity with exit rates among the broader multilingual learner population (DOE cited a roughly 9–10% annual exit rate for regular ACCESS takers).

Board members pressed for details about timing, supports and measurement. McCray said the ACCESS Alt is administered across the year (screeners, speaking and writing components and the full alternate assessment) and that students who exit EL services remain eligible for special-education supports under their IEPs. She added that DOE vetted the P3 proposal with WIDA, state MLL coordinators and a community-of-practice group that includes superintendents, teachers and Title I coordinators.

Several members sought clarity on whether other measures accompany the assessment for exit decisions; McCray said the ACCESS Alt is the primary Title III exit measure for that population but that DOE also looks at alignment to alternate-content assessments to confirm students are ready to access instruction. One board member suggested shifting wording away from "regular education," and McCray accepted the inclusive phrasing concern and said DOE would use "general education" language when appropriate.

McCray said DOE intends to return to the board next month with formal language for the proposed revision. The board did not take action on May 15.