Collinsville High School students have the opportunity to be recognized by the State of Illinois for earning proficiency in English and one additional language. The Illinois State Board of Education’s Seal of Biliteracy program will place an official seal on diplomas and confer official recognition on transcripts of those students who qualify.
Two honors are available: the Seal of Biliteracy and the Commendation Toward Biliteracy. The Seal of Biliteracy is awarded to those whose proficiency level is equivalent to the Intermediate High scale set by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. The Commendation of Biliteracy is awarded to students whose proficiency level is rated at Intermediate Low or Intermediate Mid in a second language.
To qualify for the Seal of Biliteracy, seniors must:
- Earn a minimum composite score of 21 on an official administration of the ACT, OR score a meets or exceeds on the SAT English Language Arts OR
• Earn a minimum overall score of 5.0 with minimum subtest scores in reading and writing of 4.2 on the ACCESS for ELLs exam, AND
- Earn a minimum score of I-5 on the ACTFL’s Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages (AAPPL) exam. The following languages can be assessed with the AAPPL exam: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.
To qualify for the Commendation Toward Biliteracy, seniors must:
- Earn a minimum composite score of 21 on an official administration of the ACT, OR score a meets or exceeds on the SAT English Language Arts OR
• Earn a minimum overall score of 3.5 Literacy on the ACCESS for ELLs exam, AND
- Earn a minimum score of I-1, I-2, I-3 or I-4 on the ACTFL’s Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages (AAPPL) exam. The following languages can be assessed with the AAPPL exam: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.
Additionally, students of Latin may qualify for a Seal of Biliteracy by showing English proficiency through qualifying ACT or ACCESS scores and by earning a minimum score of I-5 on ACTFL’s Latin Interpretive Reading Assessment (ALIRA). A qualifying English proficiency score and an ALIRA score of I-1, I-2, I-3 or I-4 will earn a Commendation Toward Biliteracy.
If you are interested in applying for the Seal of Biliteracy, please see your counselor for an application to apply for testing.