Seal of Biliteracy
The Pennsylvania Seal of Biliteracy encourages students to be biliterate, recognizes students who are bilingual or multilingual and provides accurate documentation of proficiency levels for college and future employment. The Pennsylvania Seal of Biliteracy celebrates cultural and linguistic diversity as an asset to improve the education of all students.
The Seal of Biliteracy supports the District’s Core Values by honoring each student’s unique linguistic qualities and promoting cultural responsiveness.
The District’s vision is aligned to global engagement with the ultimate goal of providing students with a pathway to multilingualism.
In today’s global economy, knowing more than one language from birth, acquiring a new language through school, or learning a new language at any age, can have tangible advantages for our students.
Since there are 47 languages represented across our students, families and faculty, ASD is already a pathway to advance educational equity and excellence for all students.
Requisites and Criteria
In order to be awarded the Pennsylvania Seal of Biliteracy (PASB), students must demonstrate proficiency in two languages in the domains of reading, writing, speaking and listening. One of the languages must be English.
A student must:
- Complete all requirements to earn a high school diploma.
- Earn an average of final grades equaling “B”, 80%, or higher in all English Language Arts courses taken in grades 9-12 and meet any one of the English Proficiency Criteria Options.
- Earn an average of final grades equaling “B”, 80%, or higher in all world language courses in the target language in grades 8-12 and meet any one of the World Language Proficiency Criteria Options.
English Criteria
Students must demonstrate the ability to read, write, speak and listen in English. This can be demonstrated in the following ways:
- A student can score Proficient or Advanced on either the Keystone Literature assessment or the PSSA.
- English Language Learners have reclassified by meeting the WIDA ACCESS minimum cut off score of 4.5 and the additional teacher rubric criteria by October 1st of their graduating year.
- A student can score a 3 or higher on an Advanced Placement (AP) Literature exam, 4 or higher on the International Baccalaureate English A: Language and Literature HL OR score intermediate High (I-5) or higher on the AAPL assessment
Students need to meet one of the above criteria to be considered for the PASB. If met, the student will also need to meet the World Language Criteria for their second language.
Languages other than English Criteria
Students must demonstrate the ability to read, write, speak and listen in a language other than English. This can be demonstrated in the following ways:
- Provide transcripts from a school in a country outside the US or Puerto Rico showing at least three years of instruction in the student’s home language in grades 8 or beyond indicating an average of final grades equaling “B”, 80%, or higher.
- Score equivalency of intermediate-high or higher on one of the modern world language assessments on the list of approved world language assessments.
- Score equivalency of intermediate-high or higher on a community-based world language assessment normed to the ACTFL proficiency level as approved by the school’s or school entity’s PASB committee.
Testing Opportunities for Students
Students are able to register for the AAPL assessment to gauge their proficiency level normed to ACTFL Proficiency levels.
Required Dates for Submissions
English Language Learners must participate in the WIDA ACCESS Testing in their Junior year in order to meet reclassification requirements for ELLs.
Students must schedule their AAPL test with their guidance counselor prior to March of their Senior year.
Application Time Frame
Students are encouraged to begin their application at the start of their Junior year to prepare for the required assessments and artifacts needed for the recognition to be awarded. The student must be scheduled for the language assessment no later than March 1. The committee must review all applications and results to provide a list of students who have met the criteria to be awarded the PASB no later than April 30.