Seal of Biliteracy

The Seal of Biliteracy (SoBL) is an award granted by a school, district, organization or state in the United States of America, "In recognition of students who have studied and attained proficiency in two or more languages by high school graduation".[2][3][4] The SoBL is meant to encourage students towards biliteracy in their first language and in a second language. In the United States, one of the two languages must be English (with the exception of Hawaii, where English or Hawaiian is required). It originated in California in 2008 and was formally adopted by the state in 2011. 39 States and the District of Columbia now offer a State Seal of Biliteracy. For adults, university students or students in schools unable to participate in a state program, the Global Seal of Biliteracy offers a Seal of Biliteracy language credential.

Seal of Biliteracy
Awarded forKnowledge of two languages by high school graduation.[1]
CountryUnited States
First awarded2011
Websitesealofbiliteracy.org

About

This SoBL is a seal that can be earned by students who are learning a second language aside from their native English or who are learning English as a second language. The seal will be noted on the recipient's transcript or diploma.[5][6] Candidates for the SoBL can be bilingual in any two languages, which includes American Sign Language, and should have proficiency in all language domains such as listening, speaking, reading and writing.[2] Scholars such as Kristin J. Davin and Amy J. Heineke have stated that the program's benefits are stronger efforts for academic success, bilingualism, and official recognition for their efforts.

In the United States, biliteracy has not always been the method of teaching English to English Language Learners (ELLs). In the past ELLs learned through the Sink or Swim method of total English immersion education, not having culturally relevant testing questions, or equitable assessment in schools.[7] The intent behind the SoBL is that it will "offer a promising policy solution to increase biliteracy among K–12 students, both as a means to promote the maintenance of students' home languages and encourage native English speakers to study additional languages" and make them "attractive to future employers".[8][2]

History and eligibility

The SoBL was first developed in California in 2008 by Californians Together and was implemented in 2010 along with Velázquez Press. In 2011, legislation creating a California State Seal of Biliteracy was passed.[2][9] Since then, it has been adopted by multiple states, and each state has established its own award criteria. It is only awarded to students in the public school system; students in private schools are generally not eligible.[10] The Global Seal of Biliteracy, which was founded in 2018 by Avant Assessment, fills the gaps by offering a language credential to anyone of any age who meets their award criteria. In order to obtain the Global Seal students must pass a proficiency exam. Each state also establishes its own English criteria, which may include testing, meeting ELA (English Language Arts) requirements or coursework or a specific grade point average.

The SoBL has been adopted into legislature in multiple states and the District of Columbia,[11] however elements defined as barriers to success by students include a lack of awareness of the Seal and the assessment exams needed to obtain the Seal.[12] Many students expressed a lack of awareness and preparedness until their senior year of high school, and this made them ineligible for the seal.[12] Research suggests that successful programs implement benchmark testing and provide Seal of Biliteracy program information on school websites.[13]

Areas and date of adoption
Year adopted States Notes
2011 California Originally created in 2008
2013 Illinois, Texas, New York
2014 New Mexico, Washington, Louisiana, Minnesota, District of Columbia
2015 North Carolina, Indiana, Virginia, Nevada, Hawaii, Wisconsin, Utah
2016 New Jersey, Oregon, Maryland, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Arizona, Rhode Island
2017 Colorado, Ohio, Missouri, Delaware, Connecticut, Massachusetts
2018 Arkansas, Iowa, Michigan, Tennessee, South Carolina, Maine
2019 North Dakota, Mississippi[14]
2020 Nebraska, Idaho

References
  1. "Seal of Biliteracy". Seal of Biliteracy. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  2. "The Seal of Biliteracy". The Seal of Biliteracy. Archived from the original on 2018-11-27. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  3. Sanchez, Isabella (June 7, 2017). "A new marker of success at graduation: The seal of biliteracy". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 15, 2019.
  4. Garcia, Eugene E.; Ozturk, Mehmet (2017-12-15). An Asset-Based Approach to Latino Education in the United States: Understanding Gaps and Advances. Routledge. p. 126. ISBN 9781134835898.
  5. "The Seal of Biliteracy". Lead with Languages. Archived from the original on 2018-11-27. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  6. "What the Seal of Biliteracy Can Do for English Language Learners". New America. Archived from the original on 2018-11-27. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  7. Bybee, E., Henderson, K. and Hinojosa, R. (2014) An Overview of U.S. Bilingual Education: Historical Roots, Legal Battles and Recent Trends. Texas Education Review 2 (2)
  8. Davin, K. J. & Heineke, A. J. . (2018). The Seal of Biliteracy: Adding students' voices to the conversation. Bilingual Research Journal, 41(3), 312–328. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15235882.2018.1481896 Archived 2018-12-31 at the Wayback Machine
  9. Promoting the Educational Success of Children and Youth Learning English: Promising Futures. National Academies Press. 2017-08-25. p. 44. ISBN 9780309455404.
  10. "State Seal of Biliteracy FAQs - Resources". CA Dept of Education. Archived from the original on 2018-11-27. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  11. Callahan, Rebecca M.; Gándara, Patricia C. (2014-10-03). The Bilingual Advantage: Language, Literacy and the US Labor Market. Multilingual Matters. ISBN 9781783092444.
  12. "Seal of Biliteracy Implementation: Benefits & Challenges" (PDF). Seal of Biliteracy. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-11-27.
  13. Linda Egnatz (2019) {{Cite web|url=https://theglobalseal.com/blog/2019/9/4/titkney7goe45c62no7edq72bmoeq9 10 Ways to Maxamize a Seal of Biliteracy Prorgam
  14. Davin, K. J. ., & Heineke, A. J. . (2017). The Seal of Biliteracy: Variations in Policy and Outcomes. Foreign Language Annals, 50(3), 486–499. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/flan.12279

Further reading
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