World Languages-ELL

Contacts

Justin Fisk
Director of World Languages and ELL
Room 2434
847-415-4701 | jusfisk@d125.org

Sylvia Lima
Assistant to the Director
Room 2434
847-415-4700 | slima@d125.org

World Languages/ELL Faculty and Staff Directory

---

Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment
We will strive to provide students with a positive language learning experience with our commitment to the various facets of curriculum, instruction and assessment. We will continually incorporate the essential components of language acquisition- listening, reading, speaking, and writing-in a manner that both builds upon and strengthens the students’ skills throughout their language experience.

We will infuse a variety of learning opportunities that are aligned to specific and measurable learning targets and demonstrate best practices. Technology will complement our instruction both for its academic relevance and its crucial role in our ever-evolving digital world.

We will continue to develop and implement authentic communicative and cultural experiences and create an atmosphere that promotes social-emotional learning.

Equity and Access
We believe in providing all students the opportunity to experience a world language in an environment that nurtures and respects all learners as individuals.

As a division, we will hold students to high expectations and commit to providing the tools for all students to be successful regardless of individual learning needs, interests, and cultural differences.

Working within a Professional Learning Community (PLC)
As members of a professional learning community, we will constantly strive to collaborate and learn from one another while respecting the strengths and contributions of each team member.

Trust, respect, and open dialogue will be essential components of our collaborative environment as means to improve the quality of teaching and learning for all students.

Culture for Learning
We are passionate, invested, and accountable. We believe that a professional learning community should provide the opportunity for life-long learning through the creation of a safe and supportive environment in which all members are challenged with high but realistic expectations.

As teacher leaders at the forefront of our field, we will exemplify commitment to life-long learning and professional development.

Seal of Biliteracy

Biliteracy Exams

Stevenson is proud to offer the Illinois Seal of Biliteracy for current students to demonstrate proficiency across multiple languages via the AAPPL, Avant STAMP 4S, or ALTA* assessment. The Seal of Biliteracy is an award given by a school, district, or state to recognize students who have studied and attained proficiency in English and at least one other language. Biliteracy exams are offered two times a year, once in the Fall and once in the Spring. Registration and payment links are open at least three weeks before the exam date.

Please visit the Biliteracy Exam FAQ page for more information, or email biliteracy@d125.org.

Biliteracy Exam FAQ

What is the Seal of Biliteracy and Commendation towards Biliteracy?

The Illinois Board of Education’s Seal of Biliteracy certifies attainment of a high level of proficiency by a graduating high school student in one or more languages in addition to English and certifies that the graduate meets all of the following criteria:

The Illinois State Seal of Biliteracy (ISBE) is awarded to students who (i) demonstrate a high level of English proficiency; and (ii) demonstrate a high level of proficiency in another language via one of ISBE’s approved assessments.

Stevenson will place the official Illinois State Seal of Biliteracy on diplomas, and student transcripts are updated to recognize this achievement officially.

Illinois Student Code requires that Illinois public universities and community colleges accept the State Seal of Biliteracy as equivalent to two (2) years of foreign language coursework for admissions purposes.

The State Commendation toward Biliteracy is a recognition given to graduating high school students who have demonstrated significant progress toward achieving a high level of proficiency in English in reading, writing, listening, and speaking in another language. ISBE does not award college credit to recipients of the Commendation toward Biliteracy.

Which languages does Stevenson currently offer for the Biliteracy exam? 

Stevenson currently offers assessments in the following language: students can test in the following languages: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and English ESL.

We are in the process of introducing a new vendor, ALTA that offers testing for additional languages. Click on this link to view the languages offered. If interested in testing in one of these languages, please complete this form.

Language / Cost of Assessments for 2021 - 2022

Language	Vendor	Total Cost	Domains Tested
Arabic	AAPPL	$20.00	Speaking, Writing, Reading, Listening
Bengali*	ALTA*	$66.00*	Writing*
Chinese (Mandarin)	AAPPL	$20.00	Speaking, Writing, Reading, Listening
English ESL	AAPPL	$20.00	Speaking, Writing, Reading, Listening
French	AAPPL	$20.00	Speaking, Writing, Reading, Listening
German	AAPPL	$20.00	Speaking, Writing, Reading, Listening
Hebrew	STAMP 4S	$60.00	Speaking, Writing, Reading, Listening
Hindi (no longer available through AAPPL)	ALTA*	$60.00	Speaking, Writing, Reading, Listening
Italian	AAPPL	$20.00	Speaking, Writing, Reading, Listening
Japanese	AAPPL	$20.00	Speaking, Writing, Reading, Listening
Korean	AAPPL	$20.00	Speaking, Writing, Reading, Listening
Latin	ALIRA	$10.00	Reading
Polish	STAMP 4S	$19.90	Speaking, Writing, Reading, Listening
Portuguese	AAPPL	$20.00	Speaking, Writing, Reading, Listening
Spanish	AAPPL	$20.00	Speaking, Writing, Reading, Listening
Russian** (no longer available through AAPPL)	STAMP 4S	$19.90	Speaking, Writing, Reading, Listening
Tamil*	ALTA*	$66.00*	Writing*
Ukrainian*	ALTA*	$66.00*	Writing*

*Languages testing via the ALTA exam requires a $66 payment for the writing component. Once Writing is passed, the student must take the Live Oral Speaking and Listening component and $33 for the Reading. The cost for the complete exam is $165.00.

What is the cost of taking a complete assessment?

Students and their families are responsible for paying the cost of the test. The cost of the test varies by vendor and method used to administer exam. For example, ALTA schedules a highly-trained human evaluator - not a machine to administer the speaking and listening portions of the assessment (via a phone call). The writing portion is reviewed and scored by a highly-trained evaluator.

May the Seal of Biliteracy be awarded to high school students if they tested in a grade prior to attending high school? 

No. For a student to qualify for the Seal of Biliteracy or Commendation toward Biliteracy, the English and world language assessments must be completed while the student is enrolled in high school.

The Illinois State Board of Education's (ISBE) list of Approved Language Proficiency Assessments includes various methods schools may use to determine high proficiency. Stevenson currently offers students the following assessments and languages.                                                                                                                                                      

How can students earn the Seal of Biliteracy or Commendation towards Biliteracy?

Earning the Seal of Biliteracy or Commendation towards Biliteracy is a two-step process. Current students must establish high proficiency in (1) English and (2) another language. Stevenson uses the language assessments listed in the table below to demonstrate proficiency in another language. 

Once a student meets English and requirements in another language, their student record and official transcript are updated to reflect the Illinois Seal of Biliteracy achievement. 

English Requirement  - Meets State Standards for English

SAT - earn a minimum score of 480 on the Evidence-based Reading and Writing portion

ACT - earn a minimum composite score of 21

ACCESS for ELLs - earn a minimum composite score of 4.8

AAPPL for ESL Students - earn I-5 in all four testing components, including Speaking, Writing, Reading, and Listening (Form B)

 

  

2. Approved Assessments and the Minimum Qualifying Scores in Another Language
Assessments	Languages	Seal of Biliteracy Minimum Qualifying Score	Commendation toward Biliteracy Minimum Qualifying Score
Advanced Placement (AP®)* Language and Culture exam	Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish	4	3
Advanced Placement (AP®)*  AP Latin	Latin	4	3
Avant STAMP™ 4S Speaking, Writing, Reading, Listening	Hebrew, Hindi, Polish, Russian	Intermediate High (per American Council Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL))	Intermediate Low (ACTFL)
LTI’s AAPPL Assessment (Form B) Speaking, Writing, Reading, Listening	Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, English ESL	I-5 (Form B)	I-1
ALTA Speaking and Listening Assessment This exam must be used in combination with the ALTA Reading and Writing Assessments in the same target language in order to qualify.	Visit site	1+  Intermediate High	1  Intermediate Low
ALTA Reading Assessment This exam must be used in combination with the ALTA Speaking, Listening, and Writing Assessments in the same target language in order to qualify.	Visit site	1+  Intermediate High	1  Intermediate Low
ALTA Writing Assessment This exam must be used in combination with the ALTA Speaking, Listening, and Reading Assessments in the same target language in order to qualify.	Visit site	1+  Intermediate High	1  Intermediate Low

 

Do Illinois colleges or universities automatically process the Seal of Biliteracy credits?

Credit is not processed automatically upon receipt of a high school transcript. Following Illinois School Code, students enrolled in a public community college or public university who have received a State Seal of Biliteracy must request credit for their seal within three (3) academic years after graduating from high school. 

What is one of the key benefits of the Illinois State Seal of Biliteracy?

According to HB 4330, Illinois public universities will accept the State Seal of Biliteracy as equivalent to two years of foreign language coursework taken during high school if a student’s high school transcript indicates that they received the State Seal of Biliteracy. Many universities waive foreign language requirements and/or grant course credit for students who have earned the Seal of Biliteracy. For reference, view the University of Illinois Champaign - Urbana website.

What if I don’t score the minimum requirement to qualify for the Seal of Biliteracy?

Retake policy and pricing vary from vendor to vendor.

AAPPL or ALIRA Assessments:

• Students can retake the AAPPL assessment multiple times in multiple sections, only repeating the required sections.

• A 90 day period between exam dates is required. 

• Students register for retakes when registration opens for the next Biliteracy exam.
• Costs for retaking the AAPPL or ALIRA exam are as follows: 
  • AAPPL - Speaking $10, Writing $5, Listening and Reading $5
  • ALIRA - $10

STAMP 4S - Hebrew, Polish, Russian, Hindi:

• Retakes of individual test sections (reading, writing, listening, or speaking) are not allowed except for the specific limited situations described below.
• WHEN the test taker scores within one sub-level of the requirement (e.g. scores intermediate-mid and needs to score intermediate-high) in one of the four skills (reading, writing, listening, or speaking)
• AND test takers are submitting their STAMP results for the following purposes:
  • to earn a State Seal of Biliteracy
  • to earn credits in a secondary or post-secondary institution
• The testing coordinator requests that a student be allowed to retake a completed section of a STAMP test.
  • Retakes must be requested within 90 days of the start of the test. After 90 days, student must retake complete exam.
  • Only one (1) test section retake per test is allowed.
  • Approved retake of one (1) section of the STAMP 4S assessment - $10.00

ALTA:

• Students may retest. Retest and initial costs are the same.  

May a State Seal of Biliteracy be awarded to high school students who meet the assessment criteria but do not enroll in World Language courses in high school?

Yes. Enrollment in a World Language program is not a prerequisite for attaining the State Seal of Biliteracy or Commendation toward Biliteracy.

Is there a sample or DEMO test available and a Score Report to better understand the format?

• AAPPL Exam 

Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, or English (for ELL students):

• Tips on taking the AAPPL assessments
  • Click here and scroll down to take a demo test for Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Portuguese, or Spanish.
• Sample Score Report 

• Avant STAMP 4S Assessment

Hebrew, Hindi, Polish, and Russian

• STAMP 4S Test-taker guide
  • Click here for video tips on taking the STAMP 4S assessments.
  • Click here to view a sample test.
• Sample Score Report
   
• ALIRA Latin Exam
   
  • Click here for more information about the ALIRA assessment.
  • Click here to view a sample test.
     
• ALTA
  • Listening and Speaking Samples
  • Writing Practice Sample
  • Reading Practice Sample 
  • ALTA Scoring Scale

Miscellaneous notes when applying for colleges:

• Once the Seal of Biliteracy is earned and conferred to transcripts, we encourage students to include this accomplishment on their college resumes. 

• Contact the university or college of choice to inquire about the process for obtaining course credits. 
• Official transcript available through Parchment.