69传媒

English Learners

Earning Seals of Biliteracy Are Beneficial to 69传媒. Here鈥檚 What the Research Shows

By Ileana Najarro 鈥 June 30, 2023 5 min read
69传媒 in Dalia Gerardo鈥檚 2nd grade class have access to school supplies labeled in Spanish and English at West Elementary in Russellville, Ala. Seals of biliteracy programs promote multilingualism as an asset across the country.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

69传媒 who graduated from a New Mexico school district with a 鈥渟eal of biliteracy鈥 on their diplomas, signifying their mastery of two languages, enrolled in four-year colleges at higher rates and better persisted in their enrollment compared to their graduating peers who did not earn the seal, new research finds.

The district wanted to know what impact offering seals of biliteracy was having on its students.

The seal is a distinction that is increasingly being offered in states across the country, and one that U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona has been cheerleading in various public appearances this year.

See Also

Close up of a Diploma and blue graduation ribbon.
E+/Getty

Researchers say that case studies from over the years suggests that seals of biliteracy offer a symbolic and personal benefit to students. In particular, it can help English learners and heritage speakers feel more validated in their multilingual identities. The seal recognizes their home language skills as an academic honor and not a barrier to academic success, advocates and researchers say.

What researchers found in the New Mexico district was empirical evidence of another benefit: graduates of the district who earned a seal between the 2017-18 and 2019-20 school years were more likely to enroll in a four-year college, and they were more likely to be enrolled full time when compared to peers who did not earn the seal.

The New Mexico study, funded in part by the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences, tapped into prevailing questions researchers continue to explore on the efficacy of seal of biliteracy programs. Namely, what can these programs offer students, which students currently have access to them, and why should school districts, state leaders, and federal education leaders invest in strengthening and expanding these programs?

The empirical and anecdotal arguments in favor of seals

About 7 percent of graduates from the New Mexico district earned a seal of biliteracy in the given school years, said lead researcher Brenda Arellano, a senior researcher with the American Institutes for Research. These students were more likely to be Hispanic, to be eligible for free and reduced price meals, to have ever been an English learner student, and to speak Spanish at home.

When adjusting for demographic characteristics, high school attended, and college readiness, 85 percent of the seal recipients enrolled in college within one year of high school graduation, compared with 72 percent of graduates who did not earn a seal, Arellano said.

More empirical data like this with larger sample sizes are needed across the country, Arellano said, to better understand why districts should invest time and resources to offer and expand biliteracy seal programs.

Data collection and tracking of who gets seals and how varies across states, which makes such analyses difficult. While states pass legislation approving seals and the requirements needed to earn them, districts ultimately implement these programs to varying degrees of success, Arellano and other researchers said.

In a qualitative report on a rural northern Florida school published in 2021, Nidza Marichal, co-author of the report and a University of Florida researcher in bilingual education, interviewed a Spanish teacher who learned about her state鈥檚 seal of biliteracy program through professional development. She spoke with administrators in her district about getting it started.

Florida offers both a gold seal of biliteracy (the highest level of competency in languages) and/or a silver seal of biliteracy (second-highest level of competency), according to the state鈥檚 department of education.

The teacher in Marichal鈥檚 report offered to teach AP Spanish Language and Culture so that students, especially the school鈥檚 migrant students, could potentially earn the seal upon successfully completing the course and passing its exam. But she had to convince her administrators it was worth investing in adding the course and then sorting out the logistics of adding seals to high school diplomas, Marichal said.

The teacher had to make the case for rewarding bilingualism in a school where that wasn鈥檛 the norm, Marichal said. After succeeding, Marichal found that students spoke proudly of having the option of a seal at their school.

鈥淚 think that the most important thing is listening to the voices of those children and what this seal has meant for them,鈥 Marichal said. 鈥淚t has meant that now they can speak to their relatives, they are proud of their heritage, they are proud of their language and culture.鈥

Yet, even with preliminary findings shedding hope on the potential benefits of seal of biliteracy programs, more work needs to happen to make them more robust and equitable, said Chris Chang-Bacon, an assistant professor at the University of Virginia鈥檚 School of Education and Human Development.

What needs to happen to improve standards and access to seals

Improvements to seal of biliteracy programs can happen at multiple levels.

States could get more creative in what requirements they set for earning seals, Chang-Bacon said. Currently, a lot of states emphasize standardized testing as a tool for determining biliteracy.

Laws that enact seals in states are written in ways that presume a monolingual English-speaking student that would take some additional classes, take some AP classes, and then become biliterate and bilingual, Chang-Bacon said. Even though the origins of these programs were intended to uplift English learners and students who were already biliterate and bilingual upon entering high school.

States could expand requirements for seals by including options such as tribal certifications, or recognize mastery of two non-English languages as in the case of Hawaii where seals count for Hawaiian and another language, Chang-Bacon said.

When the seal started becoming popular, there was some research that said that it tended to be more available in more affluent districts, Chang-Bacon added.

With all these caveats in mind, he said districts need to better inform all students and families about seal programs, how they work, and what鈥檚 required. States should help get colleges and universities more invested in counting seals of biliteracy for college credit. States should also improve upon data collection of seal recipients, disaggregating it to ensure there is equitable access as more districts come to offer access.

Individual cities, districts, localities, and communities should have more autonomy and agency over how someone can qualify to get the seal in their state.

And ultimately, for the seal of biliteracy to truly uplift multilingualism as an asset in public education, also there needs to be an investment in bilingual educators, dual language programs, and more world language course offerings.

鈥淭he real work happens in ensuring that students have the access to recognition of their existing bilingualism and also coursework to further their bilingualism,鈥 Chang-Bacon said.

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69传媒
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide 鈥 elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

English Learners Opinion Teacher Tips for Supporting English Learners
69传媒' stress over learning a new language in a new environment can affect their academic success. Proper support can ease that.
11 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
English Learners Explainer Undocumented 69传媒 Have the Right to a Free Education. This Is Why
A landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling protected undocumented students' access to free public education. Some lawmakers seek to overturn it.
8 min read
69传媒 at Valencia Newcomer School wait to change classes Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019, in Phoenix. Children from around the world are learning the English skills and American classroom customs they need to succeed at so-called newcomer schools. Valencia Newcomer School in Phoenix is among a handful of such public schools in the United States dedicated exclusively to helping some of the thousands of children who arrive in the country annually.
69传媒 at Valencia Newcomer School wait to change classes Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019, in Phoenix. Children from around the world are learning the English skills and American classroom customs they need to succeed at so-called newcomer schools. Under a 1982 Supreme Court precedent, public schools can't charge tuition to children who are new arrivals in the United States.
Ross D. Franklin/AP
English Learners English Learners With Disabilities: The Rules 69传媒 Have to Follow
69传媒 can't force English learners with disabilities to choose between special ed. and language instruction鈥攁nd other tips from OCR.
4 min read
Photo of teacher and blind student using braille slate.
E+
English Learners Q&A A Teacher Makes the Case for Using AI With English Learners
Sarah Said teaches her high school English learners how to responsibly use AI tools for language learning.
4 min read
Image of the concept of AI integrated into the classroom.
Stephanie Shafer for Education Week