Seal of Biliteracy

The Seal of Biliteracy is an award designated on the student’s diploma and transcript given by the State of Illinois in recognition of attaining proficiency in two or more languages by high school graduation. Biliteracy is defined as having high levels of proficiency in the four domains of listening, speaking, reading and writing in English and another language. The Commendation toward Biliteracy is awarded to students who demonstrate progress toward biliteracy, but do not fully meet the requirements of the Seal of Biliteracy.

The benefits of earning the Seal of Biliteracy include:   

• Providing the cognitive and academic benefits of multilingualism
• Increasing employment opportunities in local and global job markets
• Strengthening intergroup relationships and honoring the cultures and languages of a community

In addition:

• By law, each public university in this State shall accept the State Seal of Biliteracy as equivalent to 2 years of foreign language coursework taken during high school; and
• The community college or university shall award foreign language course credit to a student who has received a State Seal of Biliteracy if requested within three academic years after graduating from high school. (105 ILCS 5/2-3.159)

Testing for the Seal of Biliteracy

All students must demonstrate proficiency in both English and another language through state-approved, standardized assessments and courses listed in the charts below. Testing for the Seal of Biliteracy is limited to Juniors and Seniors, or students enrolled in an Honors or AP language class. Other students may be considered on a case-by-case basis. The award is not given until graduation although the requirements may have been satisfied earlier. If a student leaves the district before graduation, the student will not receive a Seal from Oswego CUSD 308, but the student can request that any qualifying scores be shared with their current district.

Cost

The cost to complete the testing process toward the Seal of Biliteracy will be the actual cost of the Advanced Placement (AP) exam,  the ACTFL Assessment - AAPPL test (Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages) or the STAMP™  test (Standards-based Measurement of Proficiency).

Languages and Test Options 

(If your language is not shown below, please ask regarding the ability to test in that language since there are occasional updates.)

You can read more about the Seal of Biliteracy at http://sealofbiliteracy.org/illinois