What is the Seal of Biliteracy?
The Seal of Biliteracy is an achievement students can earn to validate their abilities to use and understand more than one language. Students can take a Seal of Biliteracy test based on their learning a second language through the world language program at the school, but students can also take the exam if they are Native or Heritage speakers of a language in addition to English.
New Requirements
As well as requiring proficiency in another language, the Alabama Seal of Biliteracy Guidelines say that to achieve the Seal of Biliteracy students must also prove their proficiency in English. Earlier, this requirement was met by completing English 12, but in 2024, these requirements changed. Now, students must score a 20 or higher on the ACT reading, score an 18 or higher on the ACT English, score 3 or higher on an AP language exam, score a 5 or higher on International Baccalaureate, level 4.1 or higher on WIDA ACCESS 2.0(for non-native English speakers), intermediate Mid three or higher in English on the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Language Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages Exam(for non-native English speakers). In addition to this, to receive the Seal of Biliteracy, you must fill out and turn in an application by April 1st of your Senior year.
Preparation
So how should students prepare? According to students who took a survey asking what advice they would give to students planning to take a Seal of Biliteracy test, it can require a lot of study and preparation. But what kind of preparation? Like with other tests such as the ACT, practice tests can be a great way to study -and there are sample tests available:
- https://www.avantassessment.com/sample-tests
- https://theglobalseal.com/actfl-self-assessment
- https://www.languagetesting.com/aappl2-demo
These sample tests can help students get a feel for the structure and types of questions on their tests. While the sample tests in the last link are more useful for understanding the format of the test, the others lead to practice tests with questions more similar to the actual test questions.
When is the Application Window?
According to Señora Hampton, we do not yet know when the application and testing windows will be this Spring, but it should be around the same time it was last year. Last Spring, the application window was between February 21st and March 1st; the testing window was between March 6th and March 27th. Be prepared, be studying, and be reviewing vocab and grammar you might be worried about. As a student said in that survey about Seal of Biliteracy test advice, “It’s okay to miss a couple questions.” Prepare, ask a World Language teacher if you have any questions, and avoid stressing about it too much, and the Seal of Biliteracy, and an affirmation of your proficiency in multiple languages, is achievable.
