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World Language Credit Testing

World Language Assessment for Students Who Acquired Language Proficiency Outside the Classroom

At this time, Seattle Public Schools is offering World Language Credit Testing remotely. Please read below and register to test if interested. Your testing date and time will be confirmed by email one week prior to testing. 

Remote Testing through Microsoft Teams with SPS Proctors

Students who would like to take a language competency test in a remote setting proctored by SPS staff on one of the scheduled dates below can sign-up for this option. This option is available for the following tests and languages. If a date is not available in the registration it is already full. We will also update this page as dates become full.

Test Registration / Sign-up Information

Sign up for testing. Once you have registered you will receive a confirmation and next steps from the International Education Department one week prior to the test date.

World Language Credit Testing for 2021-2022 is currently full. If you would like to sign up for a waitlist please sign up for testing and register on the waitlist. We will notify you if spots become available for testing. If you are a senior in SPS please email Dr. Thad Williams at tbwilliams@seattleschools.org to register for testing this year.

Test Dates for 2021-2022

Saturday, October 2, 2021 – Testing completed.

Saturday, October 30, 2021 – Testing completed.

Saturday, November 20, 2021 – Testing completed.

Saturday, December 11, 2021 – Testing completed.

Saturday, January 29, 2022 – Testing completed.

Saturday, March 5, 2022 – Registration Full

Saturday, March 26, 2022 – Registration Full

Saturday, April 30, 2022 – Registration Full

What languages can a student test in?

STAMP Assessment:

Arabic, English, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified & Traditional), Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, Spanish, more languages being added soon.

WORLDSPEAK Assessment:

Amharic, Armenian, Chin (Hakha), Chuukese, Czech, English, Filipino (Tagalog), French, Haitian-Creole, Hmong, Ilocano, Korean, Marathi, Marshallese, Samoan, Somali Maay Maay, Somali Maxaa, Spanish, Tamil, Telugu, Turkish, Urdu, Vietnamese, Yup’ik, more languages being added soon

ALTA Assessment:

Afrikaans, Albanian, Amharic, Bengali, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Burmese, Cambodian, Chuukese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dari, Dutch, Farsi, Finnish, Fulani, Greek, Haitian Creole, Hebrew, Hindi, Hmong, Hungarian, Igbo, Ilocano, Indonesian, Jamaican Patois, Kannada, Karenni, Kurdish, Macedonian, Mongolian, Navajo, Nepali, Norwegian, Oromo, Pashto, Polish, Punjabi, Samoan, Serbian, Tamil, Thai, Tibetan, Twi, Urdu, Uzbek, and Wolof. View other ALTA Assessments.

Do you speak a language that is not listed above? Please register and we will do our best to find a test for you.

For additional information about World Language Credit Testing you can read this flyer. Also available in Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Tigringa, and Vietnamese.

View the World Language Credit Program video to get inspired!

World Language Credit testing is part of the Road Map Project’s campaign on Speak Your Language.

Students Earn Credits:  How does it work?

Step 1: Determine if you’re eligible

Take a moment to think about your current language skills in the language that you wish to be tested in (not English). If you can answer “Yes, I can do this fairly easily” to each statement, then you will probably beable to earn at least 1-2 credits when you take the language test. If you can answer “Yes, I can do this very easily” to all of the statements, then you may be able to earn 3-4 credits when you get tested.

  • I can understand ideas on familiar topics expressed through phrases, short sentences, and frequently used expressions. [Listening]
  • I can understand the main idea and some details in simple texts that contain familiar vocabulary. [Reading]
  • I can exchange information with another person about familiar tasks, topics and activities. [Person-to-Person Communication]
  • I can use a series of phrases and sentences to provide basic information about familiar topics. [Spoken Production]
  • I can write simple descriptions and short messages and request or provide information on familiar topics. [Writing]

If you feel like you need practice in your language, here are some example tasks for practicing your writing or speaking in your language. (These specific tasks will not be on the test.)

Step 2: Take the tests

Different languages use different tests. Find your language, then you’ll see which test(s) you need to sign up for. (On the website you’ll find a drop-down menu listing almost all of the languages and which tests they use.)

Visit OSPI > Students Earn Credits.

Learn more about the tests:

  • Standards-based Measurement of Proficiency (STAMP) offered through Avant Assessment. (Try out the Sample Tests.) The STAMP test typically takes about 1 1/2 hours to 3 hours. It is not timed.
  • American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Writing Proficiency Test (WPT), Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI), OPI computer-based (OPIc), and ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency (AAPPL) offered through  Language Testing International (LTI).
  • WorldSpeak offered through Avant Assessment. The format is similar to STAMP but just tests Writing and Speaking in Somali (Maay Maay and Maxaa), Tagalog, Vietnamese and several other languages.
  • ALTA Writing Skills Assessment and Speaking and Listening Assessment offered through  ALTA Language Services.
  • Custom tests in Writing and Speaking for other languages not available through Avant, LTI, or ALTA offered through the Washington Association for Language Teaching ( WAFLT Custom Testing). 
  • SLPI: Sign Language Proficiency Interview for American Sign Language (ASL) offered through  North Carolina ASLTA.

Once you know which test(s) you need to take, then find a date and location that will work for you.

Step 3: Get credit

After you complete the test(s) for your language, Seattle Schools should receive your test results within a few weeks. The Seattle Schools Office of ELL and International Programs will provide a letter indicating proficiency levels attained in the tested language and high school credit equivalencies based on the recommendations in the state’s Model Procedure for competency-based credits, which Seattle Schools adopted in 2011, as well as a copy of your test results. The student packet and a similar letter for the school will be sent to the school that you attend. Please contact the school counselor to receive your packet. Then arrange with the counselor for the credits to be added to your transcript. There are specific course codes that the counselor needs to enter foryour language.

Credit will be granted if students meet the following levels of proficiency across the language skills tested for each language:

  • Novice Mid earns 1 credit
  • Novice High earns 2 credits
  • Intermediate Low earns 3 credits
  • Intermediate Mid earns 4 credits

NOTE: If you qualify for 4 competency-based credits, that means you are considered “Proficient” in your language and you meet the language criterion for earning the Seal of Biliteracy. Your transcript will be updated to reflect that fact after your testing is complete. When you graduate, your transcript will be updated to show that the Seal of Biliteracy was “Earned” for your language.

Questions? Contact Gosia Stone mjstone@seattleschools.org or Dr. Thad Williams tbwilliams@seattleschools.org