Bilingual Seals and Certificates Assessment

The Minnesota World Language Proficiency Certificate was created as an official recognition by the state of Minnesota in 2009. It indicates that you have demonstrated that you are proficient in a language other than English at the Intermediate Low Level  in all four modalities- listening, reading, speaking and writing according to the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines. 

Minnesota Bilingual and Multilingual Seals were legislated in the Learning English for Academic Proficiency and Success (LEAPS) Act in 2014. The Bilingual Seal is awarded for proficiency in another language in addition to English. The Multilingual Seal is awarded for proficiency in two or more languages in addition to English. The level of each seal is defined according to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines. The criteria for the Bilingual/Multilingual Gold Seal is ACTFL Intermediate High; Bilingual/Multilingual Platinum Seal is ACTFL Advanced Low in all of the four modalities- listening, reading, speaking and writing. 

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MNSCU) award free college semester credits to enrolled students who have received a bilingual or multilingual seal as well as world language proficiency certificates. Students must request the college semester credits within three academic years of graduation from high school and upon enrollment in a Minnesota State college or university.

Levels:

• ACTFL Intermediate Low level proficiency is considered to be a minimum level proficiency needed to function in familiar situations in the real world. 
• ACTFL Intermediate High level proficiency is a highly functional level which allows you to communicate effectively in many informal and formal situations. 
• ACTFL Advanced Low level proficiency indicates the ability to handle a variety of communicative tasks in most informal and some formal situations which are beyond the range of topics handled by Intermediate speakers to include the capacity to use sufficient accuracy.

You must demonstrate the proficiency specified for each level of the recognition through assessments. Lakeville Area Schools will host testing sessions each year. For a Bilingual/Multilingual Seal, students also must meet English Language Arts requirements for graduation. Seals are awarded upon graduation.

It takes a long time to develop proficiency in a language. The time it takes to reach each level varies from individual to individual. There are many different factors that play a role in developing language proficiency such as experiences living overseas, regular frequent exposure to the language outside the school, etc... The general recommendation is that if you have studied the language for 3-4 years at school, you might want to try for the World Language Proficiency Certificate. Your language teacher should be able to provide guidance as well. It is also recommended that you look at the sample tests to understand how the assessment flows and the question level difficulty.  

Practice Tests for Students using Avant STAMP 4S

Practice Tests for Students using Extempore

Language Writing Samples

While schools may provide periodic opportunities for students to demonstrate language proficiency for bilingual seals, it is not a good practice for students to take the same exact test within the same academic year. It is recommended that students take a test in a different year or take two different assessments. LAS will only pay for the first round of assessments. 

The awards will be recorded in your high school transcript. For the Seals, they will be entered in June in the year of your high school graduation, even if you took the test in an earlier year. You will also receive a physical certificate when you graduate high school. For a proficiency certificate, it will be recorded on your transcript in June of the school year in which you earned it. You will also receive a letter with your test results from the Multilingual Department. Below is an example of how an award will be recorded in your transcript:

Yes. Minnesota State has determined to award the following number of credits to each level of language proficiency.

*Please note that the actual number of credits per semester can vary from institution to institution.

The bilingual seal legislation states that a student must be enrolled in a Minnesota State Colleges and Universities institution and must request college credits for the seal or proficiency certificate within three academic years after graduating from high school. Students must have also taken the test when in grades 11 or 12 and an official high school transcript is required. You should consult with your admissions office or advisor at a Minnesota State college. 

It is a Minnesota Statewide system of 30 colleges and 7 universities within 54 campuses throughout the state and offers over 4,000 programs taught by exceptional faculty. Please go to this link to see a list of colleges and universities: Minnesota State - Education Search

*Note: The University of Minnesota is not a part of Minnesota State colleges. The College of Liberal Arts at University of Minnesota has its own policies and protocol for awarding credit.