Acton-Boxborough Regional High School

What’s required to earn the State Seal of Biliteracy?                                                                                                                    

In order to earn the State Seal of Biliteracy, students must do two things:

Demonstrate a high level of proficiency in English by satisfying one of the following:

• Earn a score of 240 or higher on the Grade 10 Legacy ELA MCAS or 472 on Next-Gen MCAS

OR

• Earn a score of 220 or higher on the Grade 10 Legacy ELA MCAS or 455 on Next-Gen MCAS and complete an  Educational Proficiency Plan.Attain a minimum score equivalent to Intermediate-High on the Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages® (AAPPL) OR  

For languages that do not have readily available assessments, complete a portfolio demonstrating Intermediate-High proficiency in speaking, writing, reading, and listening.

English: meeting or exceeding the Advanced threshold scaled score of 260 on the current English Language Arts Grade 10 MCAS test; and

Foreign (World) Language: scoring at the Advanced-Low level of the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines of 2012 on the AAPL an assessment approved by the Department or demonstrating an Advanced-Low level of proficiency through a portfolio-based alternative evidence method described below.

How and when do I take the assessments?

MCAS and AAPPL Assessments

The high school will administer the English Language Arts (ELA) MCAS assessment TBD and the Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages® (AAPPL) on March 16, 2024 for students who register to take it.

Portfolio Process

The portfolio process as an alternative method of providing evidence that the student is Intermediate-High in the foreign (world) language is contingent upon the following:

1. The ability for the District to find a credible authority of the language who is proficient in the domains of that language who could legitimately review and assess student’s proficiency in the four domains of the foreign language;
2. The authority in the language reviews the evidence submitted by the student to assess the domains and certify that the student’s evidence meets the intermediate-high criteria;
3. To assess the student, the authority in the language uses the portfolio indicators listed below for each domain (listening, speaking, reading, and writing); and
4. The authority in the language signs off to say that the student meets the Intermediate-High criteria and there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate

We look forward to honoring the language expertise and diversity in our district through the State Seal of Biliteracy. If you have any further questions, please contact ABRHS World Language Department Leader Cathy Foster cfoster@abschools.org or English Language Education Department Chairperson Maryann Young at [email protected].