St. Charles CUSD 303 proudly offers the Illinois State Seal of Biliteracy, which recognizes high school students who demonstrate high proficiency in English and another language. To earn the Seal, students must meet state-approved proficiency levels on both English and an assessment in a language other than English, listed below. Students who approach the criteria but do not meet them may be eligible for the Commendation toward Biliteracy. Students can earn recognition in more than one language. Freshmen through Seniors may participate in the Seal of Biliteracy, but recognition occurs upon graduation.

Upon graduating from St. Charles CUSD 303, the Seal is affixed to the diploma and noted on the transcript. Per school code, Illinois public universities and state-approved community colleges must offer course credit for the Seal of Biliteracy. Students or families must actively apply for this at the respective university and are responsible for any associated costs.

To qualify for the Seal of Biliteracy or Commendation toward Biliteracy, students must pass an approved test for both English and the second language. Please refer to the information below for tests, languages, costs, and qualifying scores.

Second Language Assessments

Advanced Placement (AP) Language and Culture exam

• Language(s): Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish

• Cost: Paid as part of Course Fee

• Seal of Biliteracy Minimum Qualifying Score: 4

• Commendation toward Biliteracy Minimum Qualifying Score: 3

STAMP 4S

• Language(s): Arabic (Modern Standard), English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified & Traditional), Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, Spanish

• Cost: $23.00*

  • • *This amount constitutes an assessment that measures all 4 skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking). If you choose one or a combination of those skills, the price may vary depending on which you choose. The Business Office will handle any additional charges or refunds through Pushcoin at a later date.

• Seal of Biliteracy Minimum Qualifying Score: 6 (Intermediate High) OR Composite Score: 6

• Commendation toward Biliteracy Minimum Qualifying Score: 4 (Intermediate Low) OR Composite Score: 4

STAMP 4S for Hebrew

• Language(s): Hebrew

• Cost: $80.00

• Seal of Biliteracy Minimum Qualifying Score: 6 (Intermediate High) OR Composite Score: 6

• Commendation toward Biliteracy Minimum Qualifying Score: 4 (Intermediate Low) OR Composite Score: 4

STAMP for ASL

• Language(s): ASL

• Cost: $100.00

• Seal of Biliteracy Minimum Qualifying Score: 6 (Intermediate High)

• Commendation toward Biliteracy Minimum Qualifying Score: 4 (Intermediate Low)

Avant Super Language Assessment

• Language(s): Afaan Oromo, Albanian, Arabic – Algerian, Arabic – Arab Gulf, Arabic – Egyptian, Arabic – Iraqi, Arabic – Jordanian, Arabic – Lebanese, Arabic – Libyan, Arabic – Moroccan, Arabic – Palestinian, Arabic – Sudanese, Arabic – Syrian, Arabic – Tunisian, Arabic – Yemeni, Bambara/Bamanakan, Bikol, Bosnian, Cantonese, Catalan, Cebuano, Chăm, Chamoru (Chamorro), Danish, Dari, Dinka, Dutch, Dyula, Estonian, Ewe, Fiji Hindi, Fijian, Fulani, Georgian, Gujarati, Hausa, Hawai‘i Creole, Herero (Otjiherero), Hungarian, Icelandic, Igbo, Ilonggo (Hiligaynon), Indonesian, Jamaican Patwah, K’iche’, Kankanaey, Kapampangan (Pampango), Kikuyu, Kinyarwanda (Kinyamulenge), Kirundi, Kosraean, Krio, Kunama, Lao, Latvian, Lingala, Lisan ud-Dawat, Lithuanian, Luganda (Ganda), Malay, Malayalam, Mandinka (Mandingo), Mixtec, Mongolian, Mortlockese, Norwegian – Bokmal, Norwegian – Nynorsk, Nuer, Nyanja (Chichewa), Odia (Oriya), Palauan (Palall), Pangasinan, Pohnpeian, Q’anjob’al, Romanian, Saho, Sanskrit, Shona, Sinhala (Sinhalese), Soninke, Swazi (siSwati), Swedish, Sylheti, Tatar, Tibetan (Bod-skad), Tok Pisin, Tongan, Uzbek, Visayan (Bisaya), Waray-Waray, Wolof, Yapese, Zigula

• Cost: $150.00

• Seal of Biliteracy Minimum Qualifying Score: 6 (Intermediate High)

• Commendation toward Biliteracy Minimum Qualifying Score: 4 (Intermediate Low)

English Language Assessments

ACCESS for ELLs

• Seal of Biliteracy Minimum Qualifying Score: 4.8 overall

• Commendation toward Biliteracy Minimum Qualifying Score: 3.5 literacy (reading + writing average)

ACT + Writing

• Minimum Qualifying Score: 18 on the ELA Subject Area (Note: Must Include the Writing section)

ACT + Writing

• Minimum Qualifying Score: Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) score of 480 or higher  

ACCESS for ELLs

• Seal of Biliteracy Minimum Qualifying Score: 4

• Commendation toward Biliteracy Minimum Qualifying Score: 3

English 101 & 102

• Seal of Biliteracy Minimum Qualifying Score: Final unweighted GPA of 3.0 for course on a 4.0 scale

• Commendation toward Biliteracy Minimum Qualifying Score: Final unweighted GPA of 2.5 for course on a 4.0 scale

The Seal of Biliteracy Exam will be offered in-person:

• February 18 - SuperLanguage & STAMP 4S (all languages not listed below)

• February 19 - STAMP 4S Reading & Writing (English, French, German, Spanish)

• February 20 - STAMP 4s Listening & Speaking (English, French, German, Spanish)

Testing will occur in each school's LRC. Students should check in by 7:15 a.m. and bring their charged Chromebooks. The school will provide headphones to eliminate any possible quality and/or connectivity concerns.

Registration through Pushcoin opens December 8 and closes January 16.

Testing for Arabic, English, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, Spanish:

Click HERE for tips on the STAMP 4S assessment.

Click HERE to take a demo test of the STAMP 4S assessment.

Testing for ASL

Click HERE to take a demo test of the ASL STAMP assessment.

Testing for Avant's SuperLanguage Assessment

Click HERE for more information.

Who is eligible for the Seal of Biliteracy?

All high school students are eligible to demonstrate proficiency in English and one or more other languages through this program, but awards are only made to seniors upon graduation.

Can I earn the Seal in English and multiple other languages?

Yes, you can apply for the Seal in all languages in which you are literate.

How do I demonstrate proficiency?

You take a state-approved assessment in D303 to demonstrate proficiency. Please refer to the Testing Schedule for dates.

To earn the Seal of Biliteracy, students also need to demonstrate proficiency in English and in a language other than English. Please refer to How do I earn the Seal of Biliteracy? for languages and minimum qualifying scores.

Can I still earn the Seal if the results of the assessment are not available at the time of graduation?

Yes. If the results of an approved language assessment are not available at the time of graduation (AP exam results from May, for example), D303 will award the Seal after graduation when results are available. However, no official designation will be included on the transcript or diploma until the school receives the assessment results indicating that you qualify for the Seal.

For more information about the Illinois State Seal of Biliteracy in D303, please contact your World Language or Multilingual teacher, Katharine Gomez (North High School), or Matthew Jeffrey (East High School).