• The Seal of Biliteracy is an award recognizing students who attain proficiency in two or more languages, one of which is English, by high school graduation.

    The Seal of Biliteracy:

    • Values language as an asset
    • Recognizes the value of language diversity and cultural identity
    • Prepares students with 21st-century skills that will benefit them in our global society, especially during college and job searches
    • Provides recognition and evidence for students’ proficiency in two or more languages

    To be eligible for the Iowa Seal of Biliteracy, each student must demonstrate proficiency in English and a world language through various assessments. Students who earn the Seal of Biliteracy will be recognized during the graduation ceremony, and the seal will be shown on their diploma and official transcript.

English Assessment Options Offered by WDMCS

World Language Assessment Options Offered by WDMCS

  • Contact Us

    Natalie French
    English for Speakers of Other Languages Director
    515-633-5173

  • Options and Portfolio Review

    • Cost: $19.90 to take the STAMP 4S and STAMP WS assessment and $10 to take the ALIRA (Latin) assessment.
    • The portfolio review costs $15.
    • Financial assistance is available. Talk to your counselor or teacher.
    • Email Natalie French with questions or call 515-633-5173.

    Retake Policy

    AVANT (STAMP 4S and World Speak) has a new retake policy as of July 1, 2021.  Students taking the assessment for the Seal of Biliteracy who score within one sub-level of the requirement may retake one test section within 90 days of the start of the test. AVANT charges $10 for the retake of a section of a STAMP test.


    Option One: STAMP or ALIRA 

    STAMP Assessment ($19.90) 
    The Standards-based Measurement of Proficiency (STAMP) assessment measures a student’s listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in the target language. It is online and computer adaptive.

    • 4S — Arabic, English, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, or Spanish 
    • WS — Amharic, Chin (Hakha), Filipino (Tagalog), Haitian Creole, Hmong, Kannada, Marathi, Somali Maay Maay, Somali Maxaa, Tamil, Telugu, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese, or Zomi

    ALIRA — Latin ($10) 
    The ACTFL Latin Interpretive Reading Assessment (ALIRA) is a computer-adaptive assessment of a Latin student’s ability to read for comprehension of a variety of Latin-language texts. The assessment must be completed in 50 minutes. When a student signs up for the assessment in the office, the cost of the assessment will be added to a student’s fee statement. One time financial assistance is available for students to take a Seal of Biliteracy Assessment.

    When: Wednesday, March 8, 2023
    Where: at Valley High School
    Who: students in grades 10-12 NOT taking the ACT
    How: Sign up with Mrs. Stacey Karnowski in the student services office by Friday, Feb. 17.


    Option Two: STAMP or ALIRA

    STAMP Assessment ($19.90) 
    The Standards-based Measurement of Proficiency (STAMP) assessment measures a student’s listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in the target language. It is online and computer adaptive.

    • 4S — Arabic, English, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, or Spanish 
    • WS — Amharic, Chin (Hakha), Filipino (Tagalog), Haitian Creole, Hmong, Kannada, Marathi, Somali Maay Maay, Somali Maxaa, Tamil, Telugu, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese, or Zomi
     
    When: Saturday, April 1, 2023
    Where: At Valley High School
    Who: students in grades 9-12
    How: Sign up with Mrs. Stacey Karnowski in the student services office by Wednesday, March 22.
     

    Option Three: Portfolio Review

    Portfolio Assessment ($15)
    Students seeking to earn the Seal of Biliteracy without standardized assessment must be seniors preparing to graduate. The student will orally present on a topic for 3-5 minutes. They will listen and respond to questions in the target language about their topic. Presentations will be recorded. The student will also submit a one-page written paper in the target language. Please review this document for information about potential topics for speaking and writing. The presentation and paper will be scored using this rubric. 

    • Languages not listed above including: Burmese, Hakha, Kunama, Mizo, Punjabi, Swahili, Somali, Tagalog 
    When: Due by Friday, April 14
    Where: at Valley High School
    Who: students in grades 10-12
    What: Complete a portfolio assessment for a language without a standardized test
    How: Sign up with Mrs. Stacey Karnowski in the student services office by Wednesday, March 22.
     

    Option Four: AP Tests

    AP Tests—Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish
    Students who register with Valley High School to take an AP language test and score a 3 or higher could have the Seal of Biliteracy retroactively placed on their transcript and diploma.
Last Modified on January 5, 2023