Seal of Biliteracy
Lake Forest High School students will have the opportunity in language levels 4 and above to be recognized by the State of Illinois for earning proficiency in English and one additional language. The Illinois State Board of Education’s Seal of Biliteracy program will place an official seal on diplomas and confer official recognition on transcripts of those students who qualify.
Two honors are available: the Seal of Biliteracy and the Commendation Toward Biliteracy. The Seal of Biliteracy is awarded to those whose proficiency level is equivalent to the Intermediate High scale set by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. The Commendation of Biliteracy is awarded to students whose proficiency level is rated at Intermediate Low or Intermediate Mid in a second language.
Want to know more about the Seal of Biliteracy and why your student should take it? Click here!
To qualify for the Seal of Biliteracy, a student must:
- Earn a minimum composite score of 21 on an official administration of the ACT OR
- Earn a “meets” or “exceeds” in ELA on an official administration of the SAT, OR
- Earn a final ELA GPA of 3.0 or above with college credit, OR
- Score a 5 on the AP English Language and Composition Exam, OR
- Earn a minimum overall composite score of 4.8 on the ACCESS for ELLs exam, AND
- Have earned a 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement language exam, OR
- Earn a minimum composite score of Intermediate High on the STAMP exam.
To qualify for the Commendation of Biliteracy, a student must:
- Earn a minimum composite score of 21 on an official administration of the ACT OR
- Earn a “meets” or “exceeds” in ELA on an official administration of the SAT, OR
- Earn a final ELA GPA of 2.5 or above with college credit, OR
- Score a 4 on the AP English Language and Composition Exam, OR
- Earn a minimum overall composite score of 4.8 on the ACCESS for ELLs exam, AND
- Have earned a 3 on the Advanced Placement language exam, OR
- Earn a minimum composite score of Intermediate Low on the STAMP exam.
Additionally, students of Latin may qualify for a Seal of Biliteracy by showing English proficiency through qualifying English proficiency scores (see above) and by earning a minimum score of 6 on the STAMP reading exam.