Criteria to Earn the NYS Seal of Biliteracy (NYSSB)
- Students wishing to receive the NYSSB must complete all requirements for graduating with a NYS Regents diploma*;
- In addition to the above minimum requirement, students wishing to receive the NYSSB must earn three (3) points from the English criteria and three (3) points from the World Language criteria.
| Criteria for Demonstrating Proficiency in English |
Point Value | Criteria for Demonstrating Proficiency in a World Language | Point Value |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1A. Score 80 or higher on the NYS Regents Examination in English Language Arts** |
1 | 2A. Complete a Checkpoint C level World Language course, with a grade of 85 or higher, or a comparable score using another scoring system set by the district and approved by the Commissioner, consistent with Checkpoint C standards. | 1 |
| 1B. ELL's earn an overall score of 290 or better on the New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT) during 9th-12th grades. |
1 | 2B. Provide transcripts from a school in a country outside of the U.S. showing at least three years of instruction in the student’s home/native language in Grade 8 or beyond, with an equivalent grade average of B or higher | 1 |
| 1C. Complete all 11th-and 12th-grade ELA courses with an average of 85 or higher or a comparable score using another scoring system set by the district and approved by the Commissioner. | 1 | 2C. For students enrolled in a Bilingual Education program, complete all required Home Language Arts (HLA oursework with an 85 or higher or a comparable score using another scoring system set by the district and approved by the Commissioner. | 1 |
| 1D. Score at a proficient level on an approved English assessment (See “Approved English Assessments” on page 50.) | 1 | 2D. Score at a proficient level on an accredited Checkpoint C World Language assessment (See “Checkpoint C World Language Assessments and Minimum Scores” on pages 51-53.) |
1 |
| 1E. Present a Culminating Project that meets the criteria for speaking, listening, reading, and writing established by the district’s NYS Seal of Biliteracy Committee to a panel of reviewers with proficiency in English. |
1 | 2E. Present a Culminating Project that meets the criteria for speaking, listening, reading, and writing established by the district’s NYS Seal of Biliteracy Committee and that is aligned to the NYS Checkpoint C Learning Standards to a panel of reviewers with proficiency in the target language. | 1 |
Testing accommodations recommended in an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or section 504 Accommodations Plan must be provided for all State and district-wide assessments administered to students with disabilities, as consistent with State policy. Students with disabilities should also receive these testing accommodations on Checkpoint C World Language Assessments, as permitted.
* Students in schools with an alternate pathway for graduation approved by the Commissioner will be held to those schools’ criteria.
**For information on exemptions for these examinations, see questions 72-73, 91-92.