NJ SEal of Biliteracy

Woodbridge High School

The New Jersey Seal of Biliteracy at Woodbridge High School

The Seal of Biliteracy is a special designation on a student's high school transcript that she or he has demonstrated proficiency in English and one other language. Students receive a special certificate and mention at graduation, and receive graduation cords to show their achievement. The Seal of Biliteracy is a program developed by the State of New Jersey.


Why is earning a Seal of Biliteracy important?

  • It is proof of your ability to function (at an intermediate or advanced level) in more than one language. Instead of simply saying "I'm bilingual," you have proof. This can be useful when applying for bilingual jobs.

  • You can earn a Seal of Biliteracy without taking classes at WHS. The Seal recognizes Arabic, Polish, Urdu, Portuguese and many, many other languages. If you grew up speaking a language other than English at home, you can still earn a Seal of Biliteracy.

  • Some colleges use the Seal of Biliteracy for granting credits or to satisfy degree requirements.


Important dates for 2021/2022:

That's a wrap! Thank you to everyone who participated!

CONGRATULATIONS to all who earned a NJ Seal of Biliteracy this year! 51 students took 55 different assessments in Spanish, French, Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Portuguese, Urdu, Polish and ASL. As of February 1, 2022, 29 have earned a Seal of Biliteracy; a few students' assessments have not been evaluated yet.


With the exception of just a few students, all score reports have been distributed. If you have any questions, please let me know - wendy.williams@woodbridge.k12.nj.us or stop by room 208.


What's next?

Please review your score report - the next steps are listed on there for you. If you earned a Seal of Biliteracy, we'll have a celebration in the spring semester. Look for an announcement delivered to you in your first block class or in our Google classroom.


How to apply:

1.) The student first demonstrates proficiency in English. This is done through the NJSLA, SAT, ACT or ELL assessments already administered throughout the year.

2.) The student studies a second language or student is a native speaker of another language. The Seal of Biliteracy requires a certain level of proficiency in reading, writing, listening and speaking. Students taking ASL, Chinese, French and Spanish should apply for the Seal of Biliteracy near the end of their Level 3 course, or during their Level 4 course.

3.) The student then signs up for the Seal of Biliteracy at Woodbridge High School. A WHS staff member will schedule the student's assessment.

***Sign up is typically in December, and the assessments are scheduled for January*****

At this time, assessments for the Seal of Biliteracy are available in: Arabic, Chinese-Mandarin, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Thai . For languages other than these, please contact Ms. Wendy Sue Williams.


Get ready for 2022-2023! Starting in October, listen for announcements about interest meetings and information regarding the 2022-2023 assessment administration.


Questions? Contact Wendy Sue Williams (wendy.williams@woodbridge.k12.nj.us)