• Black Horse Pike Regional Department of World Languages

    What is the New Jersey State Seal of Biliteracy

    The New Jersey Department of Education State Seal of Biliteracy identifies graduating high school students who are able to demonstrate proficiency in English in addition to one or more world languages.  The State Seal of Biliteracy certifies that a high school graduate has:

    1. Demonstrated proficiency in English by meeting English Language Arts graduation requirements or attained the appropriate cut score on the ACCESS for ELLs assessment (for English Language Learners); and
    2. Demonstrated a linguistic proficiency level of at least Intermediate Mid according to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Proficiency Guidelines, or demonstrated a level deemed equivalent to Intermediate Mid for languages such as American Sign Language or Native American languages.
    3. For more information https://www.state.nj.us/education/aps/cccs/wl/biliteracy/

    The BHPRSD uses the ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages (AAPPL Test). To be recommended to take the Seal of Biliteracy Assessment (the AAPPL Test in Spanish, French, Italian or another language offered in the AAPPL test format) in the BHPRSD students must:

    1. Be a senior who has met his/her graduation requirement in Language Arts.

    AND

    1. Be recommended by the current World Language teacher in Spanish, French or Italian and be in the 3rd or 4th year of the BHPRSD program.
    1. Be a current senior in level 3 Spanish, French or Italian, and be recommended by the level 3 teacher, by having a final grade of an A in level 2 and an A or B in marking period 1 of level 3. The district will pay for the test.
    2. Be a current senior in level 4 Spanish, French or Italian, and be recommended by the current level 4 teacher and have a grade of a C or above in marking period 1 of level 4. The district will pay for the test.
    3. Be a current or former English Language Learner student in the BHPRSD and be a senior who scored a 4 or better on Tier B or C of the ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 in all four domains (in their junior year). The district will pay for the test.

    OR

    1. Be recommended by the current guidance counselor and meet the following requirements:
    1. Evidence should show that the student is a native speaker of the language (the language is spoken at home, registration information shows the home language is not English etc.). Since these students are NOT enrolled in a BHPRSD World Language program, these students must register for the test on their own and report their official scores to the district. The district will NOT pay for the test.

    *If a student does not meet one of the above requirements or is a native speaker registering for a test, please go to this site for information and other options. https://www.actfl.org/actfl-assessments/actfl-k-12-assessments/actfl-opi-wpt-the-sobl/seal-biliteracy

     

    *More information about remote at-home testing during COVID-19

    https://www.languagetesting.com/k-12-covid-response


    *Any questions about the Seal of Biliteracy testing program in the BHPRSD can be directed to a student’s current World Language teacher or Ms. Shelly, District Supervisor of World Languages at gshelly@bhprsd.org.