Seal of Biliteracy

What is the Seal?

The Seal of Biliteracy celebrates students who have multilingual competence – a critical skill in today’s global society. The Seal of Biliteracy certifies that a student has demonstrated skill in English language and one or more other world languages. Students earn a Seal of Biliteracy by demonstrating competence in both state-adopted high school English Language Arts standards and nationally-recognized world language standards (e.g. ACTFL). The Seal is offered at two levels - Gold and Silver.

What is biliteracy?

• The ability to speak, listen, read, and write in English AND

• The ability to speak, listen, read, and write in language/s other than English at a proficienct level.

• Differs from “bilingualism”, which tends to describe only oral proficiency, or speaking and listening, in a language.

What are the requirements to attain the Seal at EWG?

English Language Requirements:​

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• Proficient score on a standardized assessment - PSAT (460) SAT (480)

World Language Requirements:​

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• SILVER - Intermediate Mid (I-2) score in all four skill areas on industry recognized proficiency assessment

• GOLD - Advanced Low (A-1) score in all four skill areas on industry recognized proficiency assessments

• EWG uses the ACTFL Assessment of Performance towards Proficiency in Language (AAPPL​)

What must a student demonstrate they can do in the world language at each level?

The Seal of Biliteracy will be offered at two levels:

• Gold: The Rhode Island Gold Seal of Biliteracy will be given to a learner who demonstrates the ability to narrate and describe in the major time frames of past, present, and future in paragraph-length discourse with some control of aspect. Writers are able to combine and link sentences into texts of paragraph length and structure. The Gold writer demonstrates the ability to incorporate a limited number of cohesive devices, and may resort to some redundancy and awkward repetition. Listeners demonstrate the ability to comprehend language on a range of topics of general interest. They have sufficient knowledge of language structure to understand basic time-frame references. Readers are able to understand conventional narrative and descriptive texts with a clear underlying structure though their comprehension may be uneven. These texts predominantly contain high-frequency vocabulary and structures. The Gold level is aligned with the ACTFL “Advanced Low” Proficiency Guidelines (2012).

  • Students will earn a Gold Seal of Biliteracy if they meet the Gold-level performance standard on both an English and a World Language assessment from the RIDE-approved assessment list.

• Silver: The Rhode Island Silver Seal of Biliteracy will be given to a learner who can successfully handle a variety of uncomplicated communicative tasks in straightforward social situations. Conversation is generally limited to those predictable and concrete exchanges necessary for survival in the target culture. They can write short, simple communications, compositions, and requests for information in loosely connected texts about personal preferences, daily routines, common events, and other personal topics primarily in the present time tense. The learner’s comprehension is most often accurate with highly familiar and predictable topics although a few misunderstandings may occur. They are able to understand short, non-complex texts that convey basic information and deal with basic personal and social topics. This description applies as a baseline level of skill for both English and another world language for the learner. The Silver level is aligned with the ACTFL “Intermediate Mid” Proficiency Guidelines (2012).  

  • Students will earn a Silver Seal of Biliteracy if they meet the Silver-level performance standards on both an English and a World Language assessment from the RIDE-approved assessment list.

How do I apply?

Contact your guidance counselor, World Language teacher, or ELL teacher to discuss your options.