Seal of Biliteracy
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The Arizona Seal of Biliteracy Program recognizes high school students who achieve proficiency in English plus at least one additional language. The seal is placed on the student’s diploma and noted on the transcript.
Public school districts and public charter Schools are required to notify ADE of its intent to participate by September 1st of the current school year by filling out the Intent to Participate Form (linked above).
While language study can begin at any grade level, the use of the terms Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced indicate general performance and proficiency levels. Each level considers how well a speaker uses vocabulary, text type, language functions, context, accuracy control, and communication strategies. Additionally, each level takes into consideration how well the speaker is comprehended by others. A brief overview follows:
Novice: The student communicates with words/characters and phrases to express basic needs on familiar topics that have been highly practiced and memorized. The learner controls the accuracy within the memorized and practiced context and can be understood by one accustomed to dealing with language learners (a sympathetic listener). Example: “gloves”, “need gloves”, “I need gloves.”
Intermediate: The student communicates with sentences and some connected sentences while expressing and elaborating on basic needs. The learner controls the language with enough accuracy to be understood by one accustomed to dealing with language learners. Example: “I need winter gloves because my hands are cold.”
Advanced: The student communicates in various time frames in extended, organized paragraph-length discourse to respond to and resolve problems. The learner controls the language sufficiently enough to interact effectively with someone unaccustomed to dealing with language learners. Example: “If gloves are on sale when I get my next paycheck, I might go get a pair to keep my hands warm.”
As students acquire language skills, they will progress through these proficiency levels with varying degrees of language control, expanding the range of listeners with whom they will be able to communicate. Students in the Novice and Intermediate levels, in particular, will tend to make many errors in their communication; this is normal. In general, students communicating at the Novice level will be comprehensible only to very sympathetic listeners such as teachers and fellow language learners. As students move into the Intermediate level, they become more comprehensible to sympathetic listeners in a wider range of situations, and their expanding skills should afford them the ability to sometimes be understood by some native speakers. By the time they reach Advanced proficiency, students should have a higher degree of accuracy, and they should be largely comprehensible to most native speakers.
The graphic above illustrates the full scope of student performance and proficiency in a target language over many years of study and across 5 levels of proficiency. These levels are generalizations and vary according to the time spent in the language as well as the difficulty of the language studied. These proficiency levels are based on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines 2012 and can be used to measure performance in an instructional setting. The levels of Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced are further subdivided into sub-levels Low, Mid, and High. As students spend more time in the target language, their performance toward their true proficiency level begins to expand. The highest two levels (Superior and Distinguished) are not included in Arizona’s World and Native Languages Standards because these levels are generally not considered outcomes of K-12 learning.
Criteria for Seal of Biliteracy Program
Any PUBLIC school, charter, or district may choose to participate but they must complete the INTENT TO PARTICIPATE FORM by September 1 of the participating year.
Schools/districts must develop their own process for collecting student data and distributing the seals. Public school districts and charters must designate at least one individual to serve as the Coordinator of the Program.
Participating school districts and charters must make information regarding the Seal of Biliteracy available to parents and students.
Schools/Districts must report seal data through the REPORTING FORM no later than 90 days after the school year or by September 1.
Students must complete all requirements during grades 9-12. Previous experience will not be counted.
Students must complete all English Language Arts courses with an overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 out of a 4.0 scale.
Passes an examination in English Language Arts.
- If the student has a primary language other than English, obtains a score of proficient or higher based on the English language proficiency standards, pursuant to section 15-756.Demonstrates proficiency in one or more languages other than English through a proficiency exam. Second language proficiency exams need to be completed during grades 9-12 and preferably in grades 11 or 12.
Our students are taking exams that do not return scores until the summer. How do we know who to give the seal to?
- It is suggested that you mark in some way that the student is a Candidate for the Seal of Biliteracy. We can honor students as candidates at honors ceremonies as well. Remember the Department of Education only provides foil seals (stickers) so schools can honor students through cords or certificates, etc. Once the scores are delivered, notify the students, update transcripts and send out diplomas/seals (or have the students come pick them up).
What can my students do for the Alternate Method?
- The Arizona Department of Education will only consider Alternate Methods if a) there is no proficiency test for the language or b) the cost of the test is a financial burden on districts/students.
Can students test and meet the requirements in any grade 9-12?
- Proficiency must be proven during grades 9-12 and preferably students are tested for proficiency in 11 or 12 grade. But ultimately it is up to the district and who their students are. The Seal of Biliteracy can only be issued to those who meet all Arizona Graduation Requirements including all ELA courses and maintaining a 2.0 GPA.
What if a student took the AZELLA in 8th grade and met the proficiency requirements?
- In order to use AZELLA as an English proficiency test, the student must take it within grades 9-12. If they have already taken the AZELLA and tested proficient prior to grade 9, they must take one of the other ELA Examinations.
If the student hasa primary language other than English, obtains a score of proficient or higher based on the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPs), pursuant to section 15-756. They must take the AZELLA between 9-12 grade and get a Proficient Score. If a student took AZELLA and proved proficient prior to 9th grade, they must take one of the following assessments.
| Assessment | Required Score* |
|---|---|
| Statewide High School Assessments: ACT Aspire (Grade 9) and ACT (Grade 11) | ACT Aspire Score of Proficient ACT ELA Score of Proficient 19-24 (as set by the Arizona State Board of Education) |
| AAPPL (ACTFL Assessment of Performance Towards Proficiency in Languages) | Attain a performance score of I-3 on English Language (for both Form A2 and Form B2) |
| ACCUPLACER ESL | Language Use 82 and above Listening 70 and above Reading 82 and above Sentence Skills 88 and above WritePlacer ESL 6 and above |
| ACCUPLACER Next-Generation | Reading score of 250 Writing score of 250 |
| ACT (Traditional ACT Test as compared with SAT) | Attain Reading Score of 22 and English Score of 18 OR Attain ELA score of 20 (Readiness Benchmarks set by ACT and not affiliate with Arizona) |
| AP English Language and Composition | Attain a score of 3 |
| AP English Literature and Composition | Attain a score of 3 |
| Avant STAMP 4S | Attain a score of 5 Intermediate-Mid in each category (Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking); Composite score must be 5 or above with no category being lower than 5. |
| CLEP | Analyzing and Interpreting Literature Score 50 College Composition Score 50 College Composition Modular Score 50 |
| Dual-Enrollment End of Course Exam/Passing Score | Review the Class List offered under English category offered by Maricopa and Pima Community Colleges and partner school; Passing score of 60% |
| EdReady (from local Community Colleges) | English Course Placement score 80 or above |
| SAT | Evidence-Based Reading and Writing Score 480 |
*The listed score or HIGHER
PLEASE NOTE that Category III/IV Languages (languages with significant linguistic and/or cultural differences from English) require different scores than the Category I/II counterparts (languages similar to English).
Scores for the following languages are one threshold lower than their counterparts:
Arabic, Bengali, Japanese, Korea, Macedonian, Mandarin, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Tagalog, Vietnamese
See Full List of Category III/IV Languages Here
Assessment | required score* | Languages |
|---|---|---|
AAPPL (ACTFL Assessment of Performance Towards Proficiency in Languages) | Attain a performance score of I-3 (for both Form A2 and Form B2) | Arabic – English – French – German – Italian – Japanese – Korean – Chinese (Mandarin) - Portuguese – Russian - Spanish |
ALIRA (ACTFL Latin Interpretive Reading Assessment) | Attain a performance score of I-3 | Classical Latin |
Attain a score an OPI score of Intermediate-Mid Attain a score an WPT score of Intermediate-Mid (Each rating is fully described in the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines 2012.) | Albanian, Amharic, Bangla, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Croatian, Dari, Gujarati, Haitian Creole, Hebrew, Hindi, Malayalam, Pashto, Polish, Swahili, Tagalog, Tamil, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese, and Yoruba | |
Attain a score of 3 | Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Spanish, Spanish Literature and Culture | |
Oral Proficiency and Writing Proficiency Tests | More than 90 languages, including low-density languages that are often unavailable from other providers. | |
American Sign Language | ||
| Sign Language Proficiency Interview (SLPI) from the Rochester Institute of Technology | Attain a Score of Intermediate | American Sign Language |
Attain a score of 5 Intermediate-Mid in each category (Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking); Composite score must be 5 or above with no category being lower than 5. | Arabic- English – French – German – Hebrew – Hindi – Italian – Japanese – Korean – Mandarin (Simplified) - Mandarin (Traditional) - Polish – Portuguese (Brazilian) - Russian – Spanish | |
Attain a Receptive Skill of 5 Attain an Expressive Skill of 5 | American sign Language | |
Attain a Writing score of 5 Attain a Speaking score of 5 | Amharic – Armenian – Cabo – Verdean - Chin (Hakha) - Chuukese – Czech – Filipino (Tagalog) - Haitian Creole - Hawaiian (‘Ōlelo Hawai’i) - Hmong – Ilocano – Kannada – Marathi – Marshallese – Samoan - Somali Maay Maay - Somali Maxaa - Swahili* - Tamil – Telugu – Turkish – Ukrainian – Urdu – Vietnamese - Yoruba* - Yup’ik - Zomi | |
Attain A Grade | Arabic (8680) - Chinese (8238) - French (8028) - German (Nov. Test Only 8683) - Portuguese (8684) - Urdu (June Test Only 8686) | |
| CLEP | Attain the ACE Recommended Score for the Level and Language | French - German - Spanish |
Spanish | ||
Receive French Diploma DELF B1 (overall pass mark of 50/100) | French | |
European Consortium for the Certificate of Attainment in Modern Languages | A complex exam is successful if the candidate achieves a minimum of 40% in each part of the exam (reading comprehension, written communication, listening comprehension and oral communication), and the average of the four parts of the exam is a minimum of 60%. | Bulgarian – Croatian – Czech – English – French – German – Hebrew – Hungarian – Italian – Polish – Rumanian – Russian – Serbian – Slovak - Spanish |
Certificate of Attainment in Greek, Ellinomatheia Certificate | Attain Level B1 Certificate | Modern Greek |
| International Baccalaureate Language Exam | Attain a IB Language SL score of 5 Attain an IB Language HL score of 4 | Language ab initio - Language b - Classical Languages |
Language Placement & Proficiency Exam (l.p.p exam) | University of Arizona Language Placement Exam Meets or Exceeds | Chinese – French – German – Italian – Japanese – Korean - Latin - Russian - Spanish |
LAS Links Español (Data Recognition Corporation (DRC)) | Attain a Proficiency Level 3 | Spanish |
Attain a score of 4 Definition of Navajo Language Proficiency: Student must be able to speak accurately, easily, conjugate verbs correctly, covey meaning through complex sentences, and communicate effectively and competently. | Navajo (Díne) | |
Attain a score of 4 (Intermediate-Mid) on all 4 sections (Reading Comprehension, Listening Comprehension, Integrated Writing, Integrated Speaking); Composite score must be 4 or above with no category being lower than 4. | Arabic – Korean – Portuguese - Russian | |
| Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language (TOCFL) | Must pass Band A Level 2 or above. | Chinese |
*The listed score or HIGHER
Formal seal from the Arizona Department of Education
The Arizona Department of Education will contact those districts/schools who participated and will request an unofficial count of students receiving the Seal of Biliteracy in April. Foil, sticker seals will be sent in the beginning of May to be added to Diplomas.
Optional recognitions for Seal of Biliteracy
The Arizona Department of Education does not supply any of the following options. A local district or school may provide these items to their students that earn the Seal of Biliteracy.
- Triple wrapped graduation cord - Colors for the Seal of Biliteracy should be the Arizona state flag colors of red, yellow, and blue
- Certificates issued to students earning the Seal of Biliteracy
- Medals for the Seal of Biliteracy
- Recognition ceremony or assembly
- Mention in a local paper
- Banner with student names that earned the Seal of Biliteracy
If a student receives proficiency test data after school has ended (AP or IB exams for example), they still earn the Seal. They can return their diploma to their school to have the Seal of Biliteracy attached. The transcripts would also be updated by the district/school once the proficiency tests have been recorded.
