Starting Earlier: English Language

Learning and Assessment

Edusoft Ltd.’s Strategy for Effective Blended Learning

Workplace English: One Company’s Example

inside:

Spring 2012 • ISSUE 13

News on Research, Products and Solutions for Learning and Education

2

A Letter From Kurt Landgraf

Dear Colleague:

Here is a remarkable fact about adolescent English Learners in U.S. public schools:

more than half were born and educated in the United States. That so many native-

born teenage students are still learning the national language underscores the need

to address language gaps in our schools.

English learners are now the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. K–12 population,

numbering about 5.5 million. In this issue of ETS Innovations, we explore these and

other aspects of English Language Learning and Assessment around the world.

Our lead story discusses the expansion of ETS’s English Language research to include

younger English learners in the United States. We are also turning our attention to

younger learners in countries in which English is not the native language.

Elsewhere, we highlight the growing interest among ministries of

education in “blended learning,” the combination of interpersonal

classroom lessons and interactive, multisensory online experiences.

We also look at English as the global lingua franca, reflected in the use

of the TOEIC® test to help recruit staff and volunteers at major

international events such as the Olympics, and at the role of

English teaching and proficiency testing in the global workplace.

English has long been the world’s de facto common language.

And for close to 50 years, ETS has been developing high-

quality, research-based assessments and services to measure

English proficiency to help improve the skills and prospects

of learners worldwide.

Regards,

Kurt M. Landgraf

President and CEO

2

inside

Copyright © 2012 by Educational Testing Service. All rights reserved. ETS, the ETS logo, LISTENING. LEARNING. LEADING., PROPELL, TOEFL, TOEFL IBT and TOEIC are registered trademarks of Educational Testing Service (ETS). TOEFL JUNIOR and TOEIC BRIDGE are trademarks of ETS. AP and SAT are registered trademarks of College Board Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 18742

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Editorial Staf f

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Marita Gray, Senior Designer

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Editorial Board

Rob Adams, Creative Director

Karen Bogan, Internal Communications Leader

Richard Coley, Executive Director,

ETS Center for Research on Human Capital

Francis D. Gómez, Strategic Alliances Executive

John Kochanski, Director, Global Channel Expansion

Anne-Marie Garrity, Strategic Brand

Marketing Manager

William Monaghan, Proposal

Development Manager

Doug Ronson, President, ETS Canada

Edward Shea, Director, Research

Kelly Odenheimer, Executive Director,

Communications

Starting Earlier: English Language Learning and Assessment

Workplace English: One Company’s Example

From Edusoft Ltd., a Strategy for Effective Blended Learning

ETS Acquires Edusoft Ltd.

In Expanded Global ‘Workplace,’ New Uses for the TOEIC® Tests

The California State Seal of Biliteracy: Valuing Linguistic Diversity

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ETS — Listening. Learning. Leading.®

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More recently, however, ETS Research & Development’s English Language Learning and Assessment (ELLA) Research Initiative has strengthened its efforts to address the needs of younger English Learners (ELs) in the United States and elsewhere.

“Our R&D research agenda used to reflect ETS’s focus on adult English-language learners in an international context,” says ETS Research Director Xiaoming Xi, a co-leader of the initiative. “We recognized some years ago that, for the long term, we needed to broaden our foundational research agenda to support assessments for younger, lower-proficiency learners.”

The additional research focus reflects ETS’s recognition of two needs, Xi says. On the one hand, she says, the ELLA initiative aims to support ETS’s efforts to meet an interna-tional social need seen in the growing num-ber of English learners at the K–12 level in the United States and abroad. On the other hand, it seeks to help develop and support

ETS’s social mission over the long term.

In the past, ETS’s English

Language Learner assessments

and related research agenda

have focused on adults who

need to demonstrate English

proficiency for academic

or job-related purposes —

those who typically take the

TOEFL iBT® or TOEIC® tests.

In an international context, the ELLA initiative supports ETS’s efforts to enhance its leadership in the assessment of younger learners through new programs such as the TOEFL® Junior™ tests.

Proficiency for middle schoolers

Designed for nonnative speakers of English,

the TOEFL Junior tests measure middle

school students’ proficiency in the

academic and social English-language

skills representative of English-medium

instructional environments. The TOEFL Junior

Standard test includes three sections:

Listening Comprehension, Reading

Comprehension, and Language Form and

Meaning. The TOEFL Junior Comprehensive

test, which includes reading, listening, speak-

ing and writing sections, will launch in 2012.

A goal of the ELLA initiative is to develop the

fundamental knowledge and capabilities to

design such new assessments in ways that

lead to meaningful scores that allow for valid

judgments about test-takers’ English skills.

Starting Earlier: English Language Learning and AssessmentAn ETS Research Initiative Focuses on Younger Learners

3

4

In a U.S. context, ETS is not well known as a

provider of English-proficiency assessments

for students at the K–12 level, says ETS

Research Scientist Mikyung K. Wolf, who

co-leads the ELLA initiative with Xi.

Developing the research foundation

necessary to design such tests is another

goal of the initiative.

A critical first step

“We have a long-term research plan to

develop and validate an improved K–12

English-language proficiency model,” Wolf

says. “In 2010–11, our research focused

on identifying the limitations of current

assessments and on the needs for improve-

ment. In the coming years, we plan to focus

on using data to develop and validate a

model for a new assessment. That’s a

critical first step in the process of building

a high-quality assessment.”

Beyond the need to support English-

proficiency assessments, the initiative is

also supporting research on valid and fair

assessment of English Learners in content

areas such as mathematics and history.

Although an English-proficiency assessment

intentionally tests the limits of a test-taker’s

ability to understand and use English, a

content-area assessment does not. When

students take a math test, for example, the

difficulties they encounter ought to be

related mainly to their ability to solve the

math problems on the test rather than their

ability to understand the language used to

introduce a math problem.

Research meets mission

“It is an important validity concern to ensure

that high-stakes content assessments

adequately measure students’ content

knowledge and skills without unduly

penalizing the students who are still learning

English,” Wolf says.

“It’s one example of how an opportunity

to serve a need related to ETS’s mission

coincides with an opportunity to expand our

research capabilities in the long term.”

Collaborating globally and locally

Recognizing that success in language-testing

research depends on effective collaboration

with the larger research community, the

researchers working on the ELLA initiative

have played a key role in organizing the 2012

meeting of the world’s premier language-

testing conference — the 2012 Language

Testing Research Colloquium (LTRC), hosted

by ETS this year in Princeton, New Jersey.

LTRC is the annual conference of the Inter-

national Language Testing Association. In

recent years, the conference has taken place

in Cambridge, England, and Hangzhou,

China. The theme of the 2012 conference is

“Assessment and Learning: Bridging Diverse

Disciplines and Domains.”

The conference theme, Xi says, is highly

compatible with the diversity of ETS’s R&D

portfolio, which includes a diverse set of

research initiatives that focus on other critical

topics in education research, such as higher

education effectiveness, workforce readiness,

and more effective teaching and learning in

K–12 education. The needs of English learners

are a growing concern in each of these areas.

“This year’s theme strongly underlines the

need to encourage collaboration across

disciplines,” Xi says. “It also addresses the need

to foster knowledge sharing across different

domains and contexts of language testing.”

National research agenda

Later this year, ETS researchers and collabora-

tors from the National Center for Research on

Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing

(CRESST) will host another major meeting to

encourage collaboration and discussion in

the area of English learning. With the help of a

grant from the American Educational Research Association, ETS and CRESST will host a national meeting of researchers on English Learners to address the critical concerns of assessment and instruction of learners across the country.

In this project, called “Building a National Research Agenda to Improve the Educa-tional Assessment and Attainment of English Language Learners,” ETS will host the national meeting of researchers at UCLA in the fall, and a follow-up briefing for policy-makers in Washington, D.C., early in 2013.

Leading the effort for ETS is Research Director John W. Young, who is organizing the fall conference with CRESST colleagues Joan Herman and Jamal Abedi.

Common standards

Part of the reason for the conference is the recent adoption of the Common Core State Standards by most U.S. states, Young says — a development that is leading to the creation of new assessment systems that would move beyond traditional end-of-year accountability testing and incorporate data that educators can use to support ongoing instruction and learning.

“It is vital that these systems respond to the needs of ELs, and that means conducting research to ensure that they are continually refined to assure better educational access and test results that are valid for use as formative tools in the classroom,” Young says.

“As education researchers, we have an opportunity to help shape the design, evaluation, and uses of these new assessment systems by identifying and

articulating a national agenda for research

on English learners.”

We have a long-term research

plan to develop and validate

an improved K–12 English-language

proficiency model.

‘‘— ETS Research Scientist

Mikyung K. Wolf

5

English-language proficiency

is highly prized in the global

economy. To maximize the value

they bring to their global

clients, the Chile offices of

global consulting company

PricewaterhouseCoopers

(PwC) operate an English-

language training program.

Carlos Lenck, Director of

Human Capital, discusses the

company’s experience in Chile.

Q: Why is English-language proficiency so important in Spanish-speaking Chile?

C.L.: We live in a globalized world in which

information, business and commerce con-

stantly flow across national borders. That is

very true for PwC in Chile. We serve business

owners, executives and technicians whose

colleagues at global headquarters and

around the world communicate in English.

Many of our clients are audited in English

and have English-speaking representatives

here. Many of the reports they send to their

headquarters must be in English. PwC,

therefore, must provide services in English.

When a person joins our organization in

Chile, he or she will actually be working for

two companies: a small one serving Latin

America and Spanish-speaking countries,

and a global enterprise with 170,000

employees. Our employees are members of a

borderless business universe in which English

is a common language. English-language

proficiency also allows our employees to take

advantage of the benefits offered by a com-

pany whose official language is English.

Q: What incentives do you provide employees to learn English?

C.L.: We offer English-language learning

programs the day an employee starts on

the job. We pay for 60 percent of the cost

of English-language studies in a voluntary

program available to all employees.

We do not offer 100 percent financing

because we believe the value that someone

assigns to an activity is higher when he or

she has a personal financial commitment.

And English-language proficiency is a skill

that people want to have.

Q: Do employees who speak English earn more than those who don’t?

C.L.: Yes. Everyone who joins PwC takes an

English-language proficiency test, which

marks the beginning of their language

study. They continue in the study program

as long as necessary to accomplish the

goals they set for themselves.

When someone scores 750 or above on the

TOEIC® test, he or she will earn an “English

bonus,” which for an assistant translates

into 25 percent of his or her salary, and for

a supervisor or manager equals 20 percent

of salary.

Q: What is the “immersion abroad” program?

C.L.: The “icing on the cake” is the incentive

to study and learn English abroad.

Employees with good performance

records can undertake a six-month

program in an English-speaking coun-

try. They earn their salaries during that

period and we finance 50 percent of the

travel costs and course fees. For the first

four months, the employee lives with a

local, English-speaking family close to the

university or institute where their courses

are conducted. For the last two months,

they live on campus and are expected to

be self-sufficient, as any student would

be. They also participate in weekend trips

to live the other language and immerse

themselves in the culture.

Q: What other advantages for an employee are associated with English competency?

C.L.: We recognize the bilingual difference

and value professionals and administrative

staff with bilingual skills. The latter, for exam-

ple, could get a 40 percent salary differential

for being able to communicate in English.

At PwC, you do need English-language skills,

among others skills, for career advancement.

Q: Are you apprehensive about training people who may later leave the company?

C.L.: Experience shows that people who

have worked here leave with a positive

attitude about PwC. That person becomes

a potential client.

This article was translated and adapted from the December 2010 issue of ETS Innovations en Español available at http://www.ets.org/s/newsroom/pdf/revista_innovations_ diciembre2010.pdf.

Workplace English: One Company’s Example

Carlos Lenck, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Chile

6

Education officials around the world — from the United States and Mexico to Singapore, Israel and elsewhere — are giving “blended learning” a key role in their long-term educational strategies.

It’s not surprising why: Meta-analysis

research conducted by the U.S. Department

of Education shows that blended learn-

ing methodology is superior to traditional

face-to-face instruction in terms of learning

effectiveness.

Moreover, governments are striving to

equip their citizens with 21st-century skills

for a competitive, technology-based world.

And blended solutions offer digital learners

both meaningful interpersonal classroom

lessons and interactive, multisensory online

experiences.

Blended learning also offers the most

efficient use of personnel for contexts in

which there is a shortage of qualified

teachers or where classrooms are crowded.

Classes can be split into small groups,

and students can progress independently

through computer-based components.

In addition, blended solutions can help

reduce dropout rates by incorporating online

tools to identify students’ weaknesses and by

enabling teachers to personalize their learn-

ing paths accordingly.

In broad terms, blended learning is a method-

ology that combines face-to-face instruction

with computer-based learning. These two

learning environments may be integrated

according to correlated topic areas, academic

skills, academic levels, or learning objectives.

Implementation of the methodology may

vary according to factors such as delivery

mode (online/offline/portable device),

location (on-campus/off-campus), local

infrastructure and resources.

Challenges to effective implementation

A variety of pedagogical, technological and

administrative challenges may interfere with

the effective correlation and delivery of the

two learning environments. These include:

• the degree of integration between the

two learning environments

• a lack of training for teachers regarding

additional responsibilities within the

expanded role of the teacher and effec-

tive integration of the two learning

environments

• a low level of computer and Internet

literacy, among teachers or students

• inadequate access to computers and

the Internet

• insufficient infrastructure

• a lack of operational and administrative

support for scheduling classroom and

lab sessions

Israel-based Edusoft Ltd., ETS’s wholly owned

English Language Learning subsidiary, solves

these challenges through a highly integrated

blended solution incorporating customized

training, an intuitive user interface, advanced

teacher management tools, ongoing inte-

grated assessment, and support services

throughout all stages of implementation.

The company brings 20 years of experi-

ence in technology-mediated education

to provide assessment-driven, customized

blended learning solutions anchored in

an interactive, multimedia-based, English-

learning platform.

Maximizing learning: a case study

In 2011, the Universidad Autónoma de

Chihuahua (UACH) in Mexico turned to

Edusoft to enhance the effectiveness of its

face-to-face English courses in 14 depart-

ments. Edusoft’s pedagogical department

carried out a systematic correlation of the

course book World English with Edusoft’s

online course English Discoveries Online.

Edusoft provided a customized Teacher

Training Course for 130 UACH teachers that

From Edusoft Ltd., a Strategy for Effective Blended Learning

6

By Danny Glick, Director of Pedagogical

Services and Implementation, and

Kim Haimovic, Marketing Communications

Coordinator, Edusoft Ltd.

7

solution, and the university has decided to

significantly expand its use this year. The

outcomes of Edusoft’s blended learning

programs across various populations and

socioeconomic contexts support the

research findings of the U.S. Department of

Education indicating that blended method-

ology facilitates optimal learning impact.

To leverage this methodology, a number of

key tools, services and teaching practices

must be implemented, as shown in the

illustration below.

For more information on Edusoft’s blended

learning methodology and programs,

contact info@edusoftlearning.com, call

1-866-272-5366, or visit Edusoft online at

www.edusoftlearning.com.

explored Edusoft’s Managed Learning

approach, through which blended learning

is monitored, supervised and personalized

using online management tools. Teach-

ers were familiarized with their new role

through practical class simulations.

Effective learning

UACH English coordinators were pleased

with students’ overall online practice test

results (87.7 percent average).

“Edusoft’s blended learning methodology

has revolutionized our university’s English-

language courses in terms of lear ning

effectiveness,” says Rosario Salas Beall,

International Relations Coordinator at UACH.

To date, 10,300 UACH students have

learned English using Edusoft’s blended

ETS Acquires Edusoft Ltd.

ETS last year acquired Edusoft Ltd.

(www.edusoftlearning.com), a developer

of interactive English Language Learning

solutions used in classrooms, on comput-

ers and online in more than 30 countries

and delivered in 25 languages.

Based in Israel, Edusoft operates as a

wholly owned, for-profit subsidiary of ETS.

Edusoft’s flagship English Discoveries

Online (EDO) product is the English

language learning product of choice

among worldwide universities, ministries

of education, government agencies,

corporations and individuals.

Edusoft is already distributing the new

TOEIC Bridge™ Skill Building Course, an

online course and the first in a line of

integrated products Edusoft is developing

for ETS tests.

Proven methodology

“Edusoft has been a pioneer in introducing

blended learning solutions and combining

online learning with traditional classroom

instruction to ensure maximum effective-

ness,” says CEO Rafi Moran. “This method-

ology is proven to be the most effective

because it combines the social benefits of

face-to-face learning with the tools to

support an individual’s specific needs.”

In addition to educational content online,

Edusoft offers courses on mobile devices,

CD-ROM, flash drives and local intranets

in markets in which the broadband

infrastructure is less developed.

Edusoft offers general English courses,

from absolute beginner through

advanced levels as well as specific English

and teacher training courses. The

company’s solutions include a wide

range of pedagogical, administrative

and technical services.

PR

E-C

OU

RS

EC

OU

RS

E P

HA

SE

PO

ST-

CO

UR

SE

•A needs analysis incorporating local culture/resources/goals/ management/assessment criteria/learning content/course model

•Customized teacher training, including practical class simulations

•Flexible technical delivery (online/intranet/USB/smartphones/tablets)

•Customized, systematic integration of the learning platform with the classroom curriculum

• Implementation guidelines and role definitions

•Engaging interactive learning content, incorporating real-life contexts

•Ongoing integrated assessment of both learning environments

•An automated management system for teachers/administrators

•Automated performance tracking tools

•A practical integration guide for teachers

•Personalized online learning paths for students

•Automated tools for identifying at-risk students

•Classroom observation of teachers

•Ongoing teacher support via synchronous and asynchronous tools

•Project management

• Integrated, customized end-of-year assessment

•Analysis of student- and teacher-performance data

•Online surveys from teachers and students

•Focus groups

•Model modification (if necessary)

Edusoft’s Recipe for Effective Blended Learning Outcomes

88

One thing that these diverse events have

in common is that they attract visitors from

around the world. Their success can hinge

on how well event organizers can overcome

language barriers.

“There is an incredible diversity of languag-

es at many international events,” says David

Hunt, Vice President and Chief Operating

Officer of ETS’s Global Division. “Very often,

that’s the underlying point of the event —

to bring together people from around the

world to share an experience. Just think of

the Olympics.”

Turning to the TOEIC test

“A common language can help ensure

that the event goes smoothly and that

visitors have a positive experience,”

Hunt says. “And more than with any other

language, it is usually English that serves

as that common language.”

Recognizing this, event organizers through-

out the world have turned to the TOEIC

tests to recruit, screen and select staff and

volunteers for jobs at major multinational

gatherings. These have included last year’s

Tour de Taiwan Cycling Competition, the

2010 G-20 Summit of world leaders in Seoul,

the 2010 Shanghai World Expo and the

1998 Nagano Winter Olympics.

Interacting with visitors

Officials in Brazil’s State of Minas Gerais

also used the TOEIC test to select volunteers

for the upcoming 2013 Confederations Cup,

the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer

Olympics.

In addition to helping ensure that an event

is executed well, the TOEIC tests have been

used to equip people working outside of

the event venue who are likely to interact

Originally developed to assess

test-takers’ proficiency with

English as it is used in the

workplace, the TOEIC® tests

have grown along with the

definition of “workplace,” which

now comprises everything from

international sporting events and

expos to multinational forums.

In Expanded Global ‘Workplace,’ New Uses for the TOEIC® Tests

9

with visitors. These include employees at

hotels, restaurants, airports and reception

areas as well as clinics, hospitals and in

security positions.

Not only does a broad language-training

effort help make the event a success, it also

reflects well on the host city and country.

“The local people who interact with visitors

represent their country to those visitors,”

says Feng Yu, ETS Global’s Channel

Expansion Executive. “Communicating in

the common language helps make a

good impression.”

Host officials know this. In preparation for

the 2014 World Cup, for example, the TOEIC

test was administered to 500 officers of the

Brazilian Metropolitan Civil Guard. The test

marked the first stage in the language learn-

ing module of CapaCidade, a tourism train-

ing program that is being developed by São

Paulo Tourism (SPTuris), to offer free courses

specifically for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Economic value

“Well beyond guaranteeing the safety and well-being of the population, our officers are often the principal source of informa-tion and orientation for tourists, as they transmit an image of confidence and cred-ibility to the visitor,” said SPTuris President

Marcelo Rehder.

Another key value in making a good

impression through successful communi-

cations is economics. International events

provide a platform from which a country

can show the world that it’s an ideal

travel destination.

As Rehder says, “With approximately 12 mil-

lion tourists per year and the confirmation

that we will be holding six games during

the World Cup, including the opening, our

focus on training projects that are linked

directly or indirectly with tourism has

intensified.”

The diplomatic arena

English has long been the common

language of international diplomacy. And

organizers of the 2010 G-20 Summit in

Seoul, a gathering of the leaders of 20 ma-

jor economies to discuss global economic

and financial policies, used the TOEIC tests

to prepare personnel.

The summit’s organizing committee

required volunteers to submit an English-

language test score report, including both

the TOEIC Listening & Reading test and

the TOEIC Speaking & Writing tests. Of

the more than 5,000 volunteer applicants,

approximately 600 were selected to help

delegates at the summit venue, at Incheon

International Airport and at hotels.

Regardless of the type of event, each posi-

tion, whether paid or volunteer, requires a

different level of English-language profi-

ciency. Event selection committees work

with the in-country TOEIC representative to

determine the required level of language

skill and the appropriate TOEIC test and

score for each position.

Varied venues

The following are among recent events

whose organizers used ETS’s TOEIC tests for

English-language assessment:

Euro 2012 and 2011 — Officials of

Kharkov’s Euro 2012 organizing committee

in Ukraine are using the TOEIC program

to test the ability of tournament volun-

teers to communicate in English. The final

tournament of the UEFA European Football

Championship will be held in Ukraine

from June 8 to July 1, 2012. More than 1.4

million fans are expected, with matches

broadcast live in more than 200 territories

around the world. The City of Kharkov

expects to recruit approximately 1,000

volunteers, all of whom will be expected to

take the TOEIC test.

Tour de Taiwan Cycling Competition, 2011

— The Chinese Taipei Cycling Association

selection committee used the TOEIC test

to ensure smooth communication among

participants, officials and spectators at

the nine-stage tour. The event featured 20

teams and hundreds of athletes from five

continents. Three hundred candidates were

screened for 190 volunteer positions.

Four Continents Figure Skating Competi-tion, 2011 — More than 500 participants,

judges and staff members and some

10,000 spectators from around the world

visited Taipei for the competition. The Tai-

pei Skating Union and Taipei Sports Office

used the TOEIC tests to fill 165 volunteer

positions, ranging from venue decorators

to event announcers. The hiring committee

set test scores for different positions

to ensure that applicants for more

complex positions had the required level

of proficiency.

Shanghai World Expo, 2010 — With 70

million people attending the World Expo,

the Shanghai World Expo Coordination

Bureau Training Centre chose the TOEIC

test as the tool to assess the English-

language proficiency of the 600,000

people who applied for some 77,000

volunteer positions to work in the Expo

Park, and 130,000 positions to work in

information booths throughout Shanghai.

Volunteers of the State of Minas Gerais, 2010 — Officials from Brazil’s State of

Minas Gerais selected the TOEIC and

TOEIC Bridge™ tests as the state’s English-

language assessment tool for international

sporting events. As part of the “Volunteers

of the State of Minas Gerais,” 25,000 regis-

trants were assessed using the TOEIC and

TOEIC Bridge tests. In all, 171 cities across

the state participated in the project.

A remarkable thing

“Every year, people from vastly diverse

cultures come together from different

spots on the globe, whether for an athletic

competition, a political meeting or a busi-

ness conference,” says Mohammad Kousha,

Executive Director of TOEIC® Product

Management and Global Channel at ETS.

“That they are able to communicate with

one another across a common language is

a remarkable thing,” he says.

“It makes us very proud at ETS that our

language assessment can help make

that happen.”

10

by Laurie Olsen and Shelly Spiegel-Coleman

Last October, California became

the first state in the nation to

honor high school seniors who

demonstrate proficiency in

multiple languages by affixing a

seal of biliteracy on their

diploma or transcripts.

Conferred by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the California State Seal of Biliteracy is the outcome of a campaign begun amid increasing linguistic diversity and immigration, and a simultaneous rise of political debates in California in response to those demographic trends.

A 1998 state ballot initiative effectively removed bilingual programs from the state’s public schools. Large numbers of immigrant children were entering California’s schools speaking a language other than English, but the vast majority were losing those languages in a subtractive pattern: as they became more proficient in English, they lost their home language.

And yet, research about the benefits of bilingualism was mounting, employers were increasingly seeking workers with the ability to communicate across diverse communi-ties, and discussion was stirring about the kinds of skills young people would need for the global economy and globalized world

of the 21st century.

Broad coalition

Californians Together, a coalition of 23

statewide parent, professional and civil

rights organizations focusing on improv-

ing policy and practice for the education of

English learners, created a campaign to shift

public perceptions of language diversity.

The goal was for language diversity to be

viewed not as a liability, but as an asset for

the state.

The aim of the Seal of Biliteracy is to:

• encourage students to pursue

bilingualism

• certify attainment of biliteracy

• recognize and value the biliteracy skills

of all students

• give employers a way to identify

prospective employees with language

and biliteracy skills

• help universities recognize and credit

applicants with biliteracy skills

The California State Seal of Biliteracy: Valuing Linguistic Diversity

11

Californians Together embarked on a state-

wide effort to work with schools, districts

and county offices to develop model

approaches for implementing a Seal of

Biliteracy. The campaign drew its inspira-

tion from a Multilingual Competency

Award developed by the Glendale Unified

School District in 1992.

Within two years, 66 school districts had

signed on to the Seal of Biliteracy initiative.

The California School Boards Association

sent a sample board policy to its members.

Teachers unions joined the Association

of California School Administrators in

supporting the idea. And chambers of

commerce issued public statements

recognizing the value of biliteracy skills.

By June of 2011, more than 6,000 young

people throughout California had been

awarded a Seal of Biliteracy on their high

school diplomas. This groundswell paved

the way for state legislation creating

the California Seal of Biliteracy, making

California the first state in the nation to

create such an educational distinction.

Implementing a Seal of Biliteracy

Any individual school, district or county

or regional entity can award a seal of

biliteracy.

The first step is to clarify the purpose and

rationale that are specific to the community.

The purpose might be to encourage

students to study languages, affirm home

language, prepare young people for

college and the workforce, or strengthen

intergroup relations.

What resonates in one community might

not be a priority in another. The adoption

of a formal policy gives weight to the state-

ment by the school system that the skills of

bilingualism have value.

At the statewide level, legislation details

the criteria for the award. For English,

students could be required to complete all

English Language Arts courses required for

graduation with a 2.0 grade point average

and to pass the state academic achieve-

ment test at the proficient level in the

11th grade.

For most world languages, existing

assessments such as the SAT® II,

Advanced Placement® or IB tests, or

completion of programs of language

study can simplify the challenge of

certifying competency in a language

other then English.

English learners could also be required to

score at a proficient level on the English-

proficiency test.

Once the established criteria have been

met, the award process is announced;

students apply for the award; determina-

tions are made as to whether they meet

the criteria; the award is designed; and

the awards ceremony is held.

A ‘pathway’ approach

Some districts are instituting “pathway”

awards in addition to a seal of biliteracy.

Pathway awards are meant to encourage

children from a young age to pursue

language skills and to develop attitudes

that value language diversity.

They serve another purpose: to recognize

age-appropriate proficiency that develops in

multiple languages.

Through webinars and other media,

Californians Together is working to share

the story and promote the concept of the

seal of biliteracy throughout the country,

and to help other communities adopt

similar programs.

Help getting started

Materials to support every step of

implementation for pathway awards and

a seal of biliteracy are available through

the Californians Together website:

www.californianstogether.org/reports.

Information on the California State Seal of

Biliteracy is available online at http://www.

cde.ca.gov/sp/el/er/sealofbiliteracy.asp.

Laurie Olsen is a researcher and board member

and Shelly Spiegel-Coleman is Executive Director of

Californians Together.

Within two years, 66 school districts had signed

on to the Seal of Biliteracy initiative. By June of

2011, more than 6,000 young people throughout

California had been awarded a Seal of Biliteracy on

their high school diplomas.

ETS Innovations brings you news,

insight and information on educational

assessment in the United States and

around the world, from research and

test design, administration, scoring and

reporting, to test use in and out

of the classroom.

ETS Reports and Publications

These and other ETS publications are available online at http://www.ets.org/research.

State Pre-K Assessment Policies: Issues and Status – This report identifies and describes state-funded Pre-K assess-

ment policies and programs in 2012, as well as highlights the special challenges related to assessing young children.

http://www.ets.org/research/policy_research_reports/pic-pre-k

Challenges and Opportunities: My Personal Journey – In the 2011 Tomás Rivera Lecture, Rachel F. Moran, Dean

of the UCLA School of Law, combines her personal experience with an analysis of the pressing issues affecting

educational opportunity for Hispanic Americans. http://www.ets.org/research/policy_research_reports/pic-rivera-3

R&D Connections – Dropping Out of High School: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Remediation Strategies –

This article discusses the high school dropout phenomenon in the United States. Research indicates that the

dropout problem can be ameliorated if the political will is there to do it.

http://www.ets.org/research/policy_research_reports/rdc-18