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SEALS OF BILITERACY
What , Why , and How
Brian Compton
Seals of biliteracy have been around for a little over a decade now , but there are still a lot of questions about what they are and how to earn them . As there have been some recent developments in seal assessments related to Latin instruction , this is a great time to start investigating seals for your program .
What is a Seal of Biliteracy ?
A seal of biliteracy accredits linguistic proficiency in English and a second language . ACTFL defines proficiency as “ what one can consistently do … in non-rehearsed , spontaneous , and real-life contexts … over a sustained period of time .” Most seals of biliteracy recognize proficiency from the Intermediate- Mid range and up on the ACTFL scale . Students ( and teachers !) can earn a Global Seal and a state seal from their Department of Education .
Why is a Seal Important ?
Like Advanced Placement ( AP ) and International Baccalaureate ( IB ) programs , seals of biliteracy provide independent recognition of a student ’ s language ability . For Latin , this focuses on Interpretive Reading proficiency . Because test ratings align to performance descriptions , this tells colleges and employers what a person with a seal should be able to do in the real world .
How Can Students Earn a Seal ?
Students can earn a Global Seal at any time , while different states have different windows for granting theirs . Along with AP and IB tests , there are also the ALIRA from LTI and the new STAMP-Latin from Avant . NLE is also reformatting their syllabus with proficiency standards to help states adopt this assessment , too .
If you ’ d like to know more about seals of biliteracy , check out my materials from ACL Institute !
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