ACCESS Parent Letter
January 2026
Dear Parents/Guardians,
According to the Illinois State Board of Education, if your child qualifies as an English Learner in grades K-12 they are required to take an exam called ACCESS- Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State for English Learners. The ACCESS exam is an annual English language proficiency test that measures students’ academic English language skills in four domains: listening, speaking, reading and writing.
The District's ACCESS testing window is January 20th - February 27th. School buildings will communicate specific testing schedules with you and your students. It is very important that each student comes to school on time and prepared on their school’s testing dates. It is also essential that each student does the best they can on the ACCESS so that our district can properly serve them in the 2026-2027 school year. We will receive preliminary scores in May.
A language proficiency level is a measurement of where students are in the ongoing process of language acquisition. When students reach a high level of language proficiency, 4.8 or above, they are no longer required to take this exam or receive language services. We assure you that this test score is not reflected in their grades, nor will it affect their current classroom placement.
When registering your child, if you marked YES on the Home Language Survey that your child speaks another language or another language is spoken at home, they are required to take ACCESS for ELs. If you refused language services and requested that your child not be in an EL class/program, the district is still required to monitor all students’ language progress and proficiency through this exam.
For your information:
• ACCESS for ELs is primarily a computer-based format.
• Kindergarten ACCESS for ELs is administered individually using stories and activities to keep young learners engaged.
• Alternate ACCESS for ELs is a test that IEP teams can elect to use for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. It offers extra support and gives students multiple opportunities to respond to test items.
Test Demo- Choose “ACCESS for ELs”
We appreciate your continued cooperation and support. For more information, feel free to reach out.
Sincerely,
Natalia Gomez
Director for Multilingual & Instructional Supports