Forty-two Students Test for Seal of Biliteracy

From January 21st to 22nd, Nutley High School held testing for the Seal of Biliteracy, which is awarded to students who are proficient in two or more languages. Its purpose is to highlight the value of being bilingual, to encourage students to become bilingual, and to celebrate those who are. To earn the seal, students must do well in English class and pass a test to prove their fluency in a second language.

At NHS, Spanish is the most commonly tested second language. Other languages that were tested for this year include Arabic, Italian, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, and Tagalog. Global Studies Supervisor Joe Dwyer, who is in charge of the Seal of Biliteracy testing at NHS said, “Forty-two students were tested this year, which is comparable to past years. We are hoping to expand the number of participating students over the next few years.”

Students can participate in testing for the Seal of Biliteracy either junior or senior year. Dwyer explains that while most students test because they are native speakers of a second language, some test for a language that they learned at NHS. This year, students could test on either January 21st or 22nd, but Dwyer says that they are considering adding an additional fall testing window for seniors who need the results on their transcripts sooner for early college applications.

ESL teacher Prudence Soobrattie often encourages her students to take the Seal of Biliteracy exam. She said, “The test is not obligatory, but highly recommended. I hope that we can encourage more students to participate. I often meet non-ESL students who hail from families with multilingual heritage which [also] should be celebrated.” 

According to the New Jersey Department of Education, “... the State Seal of Biliteracy emphasizes the importance of both bilingualism, which facilitates improved communication and boosts the local economy, and cultural understanding, which promotes social acceptance.”

Soobrattie elaborates, “It is not always a given that an immigrant student is literate in their native language. Especially if a student immigrated when young, they may not have been formally educated in their native countries. Hence, even if conversational, they may not know how to read and write at a high level. However, since many of the NHS students arrived later in their school careers, they often possess literacy skills in their native languages.”

Soobrattie has a personal connection to the seal, explaining, “My family and I lived in Italy for four years, and as a result my older son is very good at Italian even though we aren’t Italian. As a mom, I encouraged him to take the Seal of Biliteracy and he did!”

Junior Amal Jaber is just one of many students who took the exam last January upon hearing about it from Soobrattie. She tested for her native language of Arabic, and said that she felt completely prepared for the exam because of her strong Arabic skills. She said, “I thought it would be cool not only to challenge myself and see how good I am in my native language, but also to make my high school diploma look better.”