Seal of Biliteracy
Thornton Fractional District 215 is proud to offer the Illinois State Seal of Biliteracy to qualifying students who demonstrate a high level of proficiency in English and Spanish.
The State Seal is an award given to high school seniors that appears as a seal on their diplomas and official transcripts to certify that the student is biliterate in English and one or more languages. A biliterate person can read, write, speak, and understand another language. The benefits to achieving this honor include:
- Earning college credit in Illinois and possibly other states
- Distinguishing your resume and college application
- Earning scholarship and career opportunities
- Understanding your proficiency to set advanced language goals
To qualify for the Seal of Biliteracy students must demonstrate proficiency in both English and Spanish. Spanish proficiency must be demonstrated by an AP Spanish Language score of 4 or 5.
Options for proof of English Proficiency include:
- A minimum score of 480 on the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing portion of the SAT
- An overall composite score of 4.8 or higher on the ACCESS test
- AP Language & Composition score of 4 or 5
Per 105 ILCS 5/2-3.159, all Illinois public colleges and universities must accept the State Seal of Biliteracy as equivalent to two years of foreign language coursework and must also award course credit.
Students who earn the Seal of Biliteracy receive official seals on their diplomas and transcripts, and receive a certificate of bilinguality from the State.
Please contact your student’s counselor for more information.
More information is also available from the Illinois State Board of Education.