TheAmericanCouncilontheTeachingofForeignLanguagesprovidesthefollowing
informationtoassisttheIllinoisStateBoardofEducationinsettinginitsadministrative
rulesthethresholdleveloflanguageperformanceforearningtheIllinoisSealofBiliteracy.
TalkingPointsonSettingLevelforIllinois’SealofBiliteracy
 TheWIDAPerformanceDefinitionsandACTFLProficiencyLevelsrepresent
differentpurposesandscales.WIDAcriteriaareintendedtomeasureacademic
secondlanguagedevelopment,contentandsubjectareaspecific,representinga
hierarchyofvocabularyandtexttype.ACTFLProficiencyLevelsareintendedto
measureabroaderusageoflanguage,notlimitedtoanacademiccontext,
representingahierarchyoflanguagefunctions.
 SincetheIllinoisSealofBiliteracywillberepresentativeofhighschoolperformance,
anothersourceofcomparisonistheCollegeBoard’sAdvancedPlacement
descriptionsofAchievementLevelsfortheLanguageandCultureExams,ameasure
ofendofprogramperformance.TheAdvancedPlacementAchievementLevel
Descriptionsaddresslanguagefunctionsandprovideaclosematchforpurposesof
comparisonwiththeACTFLProficiencyLevels.
 NativespeakersspendmostoftheirlifeforeverydaycommunicationattheACTFL
Advancedlevel.TheWIDAlevel5thereforeismorelikeIntermediateHighasitis
definedas“approachingcomparabilitytothatofproficientEnglishpeers.”The
IntermediateHighlanguageuserisabletoproduceAdvancedlevellanguage,asthey
approachcomparability,butarenotabletodoitallthetime.
ComparisonofACTFLProficiencyLevelswithWIDAPerformanceDefinitions
 LanguagefunctionsarenotthebasisoftheWIDAPerformanceDefinitions;language
functionsareattheheartoftheACTFLProficiencyGuidelines.IntermediateHigh
languageusersareabletoperformthefunctionsoftheAdvancedlevel,butnotall
thetime,showingmoresuccesswithmorefamiliartopics.
 TheWIDAPerformanceDefinitionsmainlyfocusontexttype:“varietyofsentence
lengthsofvaryinglinguisticcomplexity,extendedoralorwrittendiscourse,
includingstories,essays,orreports”
 TheWIDAPerformanceDefinitionsfocusonadifferentcontext:“specializedor
technicallanguageofcontentareas”(whichisgenerallybasedonfamiliaritywith
basicinformationforthesubjectarea)
 TheWIDAPerformanceDefinitionsemphasizecomparabilitytooralorwritten
languageofEnglish‐proficiencypeers(whenpresentedwithgradelevelmaterial).
Gradelevelmaterialwillbepracticedwithinaunitofinstruction,thusprovidingthe
elementoffamiliarityforIntermediateHighlanguageuserstobeabletofrequently
performlikeAdvancedlevellanguageusersanddealwithvocabularythatis
specialized.However,beyondvocabulary,itisimportanttoidentifythelanguage
functionsandthedegreeofaccuracydemonstrated.
SealofBiliteracyRequirementsinOtherStates
California:Nottiedtoaproficiencylevel(evidenceincludesyearsofstudyofa
language)
NewJersey:LookingatIntermediateHigh,butmaybeIntermediateMid
NewYork:Criterionis“highlevelofproficiencyinlistening,speaking,reading,and
writinginoneormorelanguages,inadditiontoEnglish.”2014‐15willbeaone‐year
pilotimplementationprogram;2015‐16willbefullimplementationwith
participatingdistricts
StatesconsideringtheSealofBiliteracy:
Utah:UnderconsiderationishavingtwolevelsfortheSealofBiliteracy(likelyabasic
“gold”SealatIntermediateMid;a“platinum”leveloftheSealatAdvancedLow)
MarylandisconsideringIntermediateHighfortheSealofBiliteracy
ComparisonofACTFLProficiencyLevelswithAdvancedPlacementExams:
 TheCollegeBoard’sAchievementLevelDescriptionsprovideverydetailed
expectationsforstudentperformanceateachAPscorelevelforeachofsixlearning
objectivesforthecourseandexam.ThesearepublishedineachoftheCollege
Board’sre‐designedcourses’CourseandExamDescriptions.
 Anecdotalevidenceandexaminationofthescoringrubricindicatethatstudents
whoareshowingevidenceofIntermediateMidproficiencyarelikelytoscorea3
(passingscore)ontheAPLanguageandCultureExam;studentsshowingevidence
ofIntermediateHighproficiencyarelikelytoscorea4or5;studentsshowing
evidenceofAdvancedlevelproficiencyarethemostlikelytoscorea5ontheAP
exam.IntermediateHighlanguageusersareabletofunctionattheAdvancedlevel,
butarenotabletosustainthatperformanceacrossthetasksandcontextsofthe
Advancedlevel.
 HereisalinktothecurrentAchievementLevelDescriptionsinSpanish(seepages
8‐29ofthisdocumentforthelonganddetaileddescriptions):
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/descriptions/index.html
 TheCollegeBoardwebsiteprovidessampleactivitiesfromtheAPLanguageand
Cultureexams,whicharebasedontheNationalStandards’threemodesof
communication(Interpersonal,Interpretive,andPresentational):
o Listentoaradioortelevisionbroadcastandpresentitscontentandyour
ownopinionsaboutittoyourclass)
o Readanddiscusscurrentevents
o Compareandcontrastculturalperspectivesbetweenyourcommunityand
thoseofaSpanish‐speakingcommunity
SupportingMaterials:
ComparisonofAPAchievementLevelDescriptions(Level3–Passing)
withACTFLProficiencyLevelofIntermediateHigh
Categories
Strategies
Opinions
Language
structures
Vocabulary
Pronunciation
Comprehension
ofContent
AP–Level3
CorrespondingACTFLProficiencyLeveland
Sub‐Level
Interpersonal
Circumlocutionandparaphrasing
Advanced (Low):abletouserephrasingand
circumlocution;someevidenceatIntermediate
High
Seekclarificationbyaskingfor
Novice (High):withrepetitionorrephrasing,
repetition
cangenerallybeunderstoodbythoseusedto
non‐natives
Usecontexttodeducemeaningof
Intermediate:Listenersrelyheavilyon
unfamiliarwords
redundancy,restatement,paraphrasing,and
contextualclues;Advancedlisteners
compensateforlimitationsinlexicaland
structuralcontrolbyusingreal‐world
knowledgeandcontextualclues
Mayrecognizeerrors;attemptsat
Intermediate (Mid):speechmaycontain
correctionareonlyoccasionally
pauses,reformulations,andself‐corrections
successful
Stateopinionsontopicsofpersonal
Intermediate:familiartopicsrelatedtotheir
interest
dailylife(Advanced:topicsofcommunity,
national,orinternationalinterest)
Understandandrespondtoquestions
Intermediate (High):abletohandle
andstatementsonfamiliartopics
successfullyuncomplicatedtasksandsocial
situationsrequiringanexchangerelatedto
work,school,recreation,interests,andareasof
competence
Narrationsanddescriptions
Intermediate (High):cannarrateanddescribe
characterizedbystringsofsimple
inallmajortimeframesusingconnected
sentencesandafewcompound
discourseofparagraphlength,butnotallthe
sentences;Mostaccuracyinthepresent time;IntermediateMid:produceresponses
timeandsomeaccuracyinothertime
typicallyconsistingofsentencesandstringsof
frames
sentences
Usevocabularyfromfamiliarthematic
Intermediate:Recombinelearnedmaterialin
wordgroups;Someculturally
ordertoproducepersonalmeaning
appropriateandidiomaticexpressions
Comprehensibletoanaudience
Intermediate (Mid):generallyunderstoodby
accustomedtointeractingwithlanguage sympatheticinterlocutorsaccustomedto
learners,yeterrorsoccasionallyimpede dealingwithnon‐natives
comprehensibility
Interpretive
Identifysomemainideasanddetailson Advanced (Low):understandthemainideas
familiartopics
andsomesupportingdetails;IntermediateHigh:
occasionalgapsinunderstandingduetoa
limitedknowledgeofthevocabulary,structures,
andwritingconventionsofthelanguage.
Vocabulary
Respondaccuratelytobasicinformation
questions
Cansometimesusecontexttodeduce
meaningofunfamiliarwordsandmake
limitedinferences
Comprehendavarietyofvocabularyon
topicsofpersonalinterest
Intermediate:understandtextsthatconvey
basicinformation
Intermediate:Readersrelyheavilyon
contextualclues
Intermediate (High):textthatconveybasic
informationanddealwithpersonalandsocial
topics
Presentational–SpokenorWritten
Discourseand
development
Language
structures
Usestringsofsentencesandafewbasic
cohesivedevicestoexpresspersonal
opinions,describeandnarrateon
familiartopics
Producesimpleandcompound
sentenceswiththemostaccuracyinthe
presenttime;someaccuracyinother
timeframes
Errorsmayimpedecomprehensibility
Writing
Conventions
Useofstandardconventionsofwritten
languageisinconsistent,whichmay
causeconfusionforthereader
Intermediate (High):cannarrateanddescribe
indifferenttimeframeswhenwritingabout
everydayeventsandsituations;oftenbutnot
alwaysofparagraphlength
Intermediate (Mid):theirwritingisframedin
presenttimebutmaycontainreferencesto
othertimeframes.IntermediateHigh:
Narrationsanddescriptionsareoftenbutnot
alwaysofparagraphlength
Intermediate (High):evenwithnumerousand
perhapssignificanterrors,isgenerally
comprehensibletonativenotusedtothe
writingofnon‐natives.
Intermediate (Low):Theremaybebasicerrors
inpunctuation,spelling.
TheredesignedAdvancedPlacementSpanishLanguageandCultureExamrequiresstudentsto
demonstratetheirabilitytodothefollowingtasks,whichrepresentlanguagefunctionsacrossmany
differentACTFLProficiencyLevels;however,itisintheevaluationcriteriathattheperformance
expectationsaredefinedforeachrating(1‐5):
 Identifyandsummarizethemainpointsandsignificantdetailsandmakeappropriateinferences
andpredictionsfromaspokensource,suchasabroadcastnewsreportoralectureonanacademic
orculturaltopicrelatedtotheSpanish‐speakingworld.
 Identifyandsummarizethemainpointsandsignificantdetailsandpredictoutcomesfroman
everydayconversationonafamiliartopic,adialoguefromafilmorotherbroadcastmedia,oran
interviewonasocialorculturaltopicrelatedtotheSpanish‐speakingworld.
 Identifyandsummarizemainpointsandimportantdetails;makeappropriateinferencesandpre‐
dictionsfromawrittentextsuchasanewspaper/magazinearticleorcontemporaryliteraryexcerpt.
 Writeacohesiveandcoherentanalyticalorpersuasiveessayinreactiontoatextoronapersonal,
academic,culturalorsocialissue,withcontrolofgrammarandsyntax.
 Describe,narrateandpresentinformationorpersuasiveargumentsongeneraltopicswith
grammaticalcontrolandgoodpronunciation.
 Useinformationfromsourcesprovidedtopresentasynthesisandexpressanopinion.
 Recognizeculturalelementsimplicitinoralandwrittentexts.
 Interpretlinguisticcuestoinfersocialrelationships.
 Communicateviainterpersonalandpresentationalwrittencorrespondence.
 Initiate,maintainandcloseaconversationonafamiliartopic.
 Formulatequestionstoseekclarificationoradditionalinformation.
 Uselanguagethatissemanticallyandgrammaticallyaccurateaccordingtoagivencontext.