Seal of Biliteracy

What is the Seal of Biliteracy (SSB)?

The State Seal of Biliteracy was authorized by AB815 and became effective January 1, 2012.  The program recognizes high school graduates who have attained a high level of proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing in one or more languages in addition to English.  Appearing on the transcript of the graduating senior, the Seal of Biliteracy is a statement of accomplishment for gaining competency in two or more languages, and is viewed as an asset when applying for college admission.

GOALS

In awarding the Seal of Biliteracy to graduating seniors who meet the requirements, the Claremont Unified School District seeks to:

• Prepare students to become global citizens in a multicultural, multilingual world;
• Encourage students to develop and maintain biliteracy and multilingual skills;
• Recognize and honor our rich and diverse language assets;
• Promote world language instruction in our schools;
• Promote the development of language and cultural appreciation and cross-cultural understanding;
• Encourage the development of foreign, native, and heritage language programs in schools and provide employers with a method of identifying individuals with language and biliteracy skills.

ELIGIBILITY

The Seal will be awarded to graduating seniors in Claremont Unified School District who have mastered standard academic English and any other language.

Students wishing to receive the Seal of Biliteracy must submit an application form and meet all of the following criteria set forth by the State of California (http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/el/er/ssb13anlltrtofield.asp:

1. Completion of all English Language Arts requirements for graduation with an overall grade point average of 2.0 or above in those classes.
2. Score “Standard Exceeded” (Level 4) on the Grade 11 Smarter Balanced Summative Assessment for English language arts/literacy (ELA). Students scoring at this level are considered “Ready” for English college-level coursework and are exempt from taking the California State English Placement Test (http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/gs/hs/eapindex.asp).
   1. Students scoring “Standard Met” (Level 3) are considered “Conditionally Ready” and must receive a “C” or better in both semesters of their Senior level English class (e.g. Senior English, ERWC, IB English HL 2, AP Literature, etc.).
3. Proficient in one or more languages in addition to English, demonstrated through one of the following methods:
   1. Pass a foreign language Advanced Placement examination with a score of 3 or higher or an International Baccalaureate examination with a score of 4 or higher.
   2. Successfully complete a four–year high school course of study in a foreign (world) language and attain an overall grade point average of 3.0 in that course of study.
   3. Pass the Scholastic Assessment Test II foreign language examination with a score of 600 or higher.

If the primary language of a pupil in any grade nine to twelve, inclusive, is other than English, he/she shall do both of the following in order to qualify for the SSB:

1. Attain the Early Advanced or Advanced proficiency level on the California English Language Development Test (CELDT).  For purposes of this paragraph, a participating school district may administer the CELDT test an additional time as necessary.
2. Meet all the criteria listed above in 1, 2, and 3.

      4.  Complete all high school graduation requirements.

AWARD COMPONENTS

• Seal on diploma
• Transcript notation
• Graduation stole