Alignment of the WIDA English Language Development Standards to the Global Scale of English

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About the GSE

Pearson developed the Global Scale of English (GSE) to provide instructors and learners with a more granular understanding of English language proficiency. It has been designed to build learners’ confidence by revealing exactly where they are on their learning journey and setting personalized goals to help them progress.

The GSE is an ecosystem that underpins the Pearson English Journey:

  • GSE Scale: a proficiency scale from 10 to 90, with clear statements for what a learner can achieve in speaking, listening, reading and writing at any point on the scale.
  • GSE Learning Objectives: descriptions of what learners can do at each level of proficiency in speaking, listening, reading and writing.
  • Courseware: all of Pearson's English language learning courseware is developed using the GSE Learning Objectives.
  • Assessment: institutions can develop their own assessment materials using the GSE Learning Objectives and Assessment Frameworks, or choose one of Pearson's digital assessments that reports on the GSE.

Learn more about the GSE

Alignment methodology

For the purposes of this alignment, we worked with the 2016 list of WIDA Can Do statements for Grade 1. We are aware that the WIDA framework was revised in 2020 but any changes to the Can Do statements have not yet been made publicly available. For that reason, we have retained the Sections and Sub-Sections from the 2016 list. However, the WIDA 2020 framework was consulted for the alignment.

Each WIDA Can Do statement was aligned to one or more GSE Learning Objectives. Given the age range for Grade 1, GSE Learning Objectives for Young Learners were used.

The GSE ranges for each grade are broad, reflecting the range in WIDA proficiency levels from Entering to Reaching. For the purposes of the alignment table, data is included from Entering to Bridging, given that Reaching is generally considered to be beyond the level of an ELL in any grade year. Alignment of GSE Learning Objectives to WIDA Reaching level descriptors is, however, included in the detailed tables in this document.

To find out more about our alignment and stages, download the mapping booklets.

Alignment results
WIDA Grade GSE Range
Kindergarten 14-39
Grade 1 17-50
Grades 2 to 3 19-56
Grades 4 to 5 25-63
Grades 6 to 8 27-66
Grades 9 to 12 30-73

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