Secondary World Languages

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DSD World Languages - Focus on Proficiency

Quote:

“Language and communication are at the heart of the human experience.” (ACTFL)

Vision:

One day, all Davis School District graduates will demonstrate linguistic competency in at least two languages.

Mission:

The Davis School District World Language Department is a language learning organization dedicated to creating multilingual citizens who are ready to participate in our global society. We strive to promote multilingualism and intercultural interaction and understanding by offering our students proficiency-based world language instruction that encourages target language usage in real world settings.

Goal:

In Davis School District, our goal is for learners to truly use language as a means of communication with the world around us. This means a lot of practice and use of the language by the teacher and the student. The successful acquisition of a second language requires students to follow a long, sequential course of study that focuses on student use of the language, as will be required of them in the "real world".

We currently offer instruction in the following languages: ASL, Chinese, French, German and Spanish. Actual course offerings vary by school.

Proficiency

What is Proficfiency and why does it matter?

Language proficiency refers to a person’s ability to use a language for a variety of real-world purposes.Proficiency is commonly measured using the guidelines developed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).

A student who begins learning a language in kindergarten and continues through high school, can possibly have a fluency rating in the advanced range by the 12th grade. Students who begin learning a language in 7th grade, and continue for five or six years, can have a fluency rating in the intermediate-mid to intermediate-high range.

The ACTFL proficiency scale includes:
Novice

Intermediate

Advanced

Superior

Assessments and Testing

Important things to know about our language assessments and how they are rated and graded in our World Language Program:

Most of our language assessments at every level (7th grade through 12th grade) are performance based. Performance assessments allow our learners to demonstrate their language skills through real world tasks and scenarios. Learners are able to practice targeted skills throughout each unit by completing tasks in class, as homework, collaborative activities, projects and formative assessments.

At the end of each unit of study the learners take a summative assessment that requires the learners to use speak, listen, read, and write. In addition to this, there are numerous opportunities for students to demonstrate their proiciency in the four areas.

The learners' performance is rated using a scale that describes the levels of proficiency used in World Languages. The descriptors in the rubric are part of national and state descriptors for all levels of language; Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced.

Below you can click on information and resources for further information on the targeted levels for each course and what each level means. This will help you understand what your child will be able to do in the language at each level.

The Utah state core proficiency targets are aligned with the Davis School District course proficiency targets based on how much time learners have spent learning a language. These proficiency levels and indicators are described in our DESK standards
Language Learners in our schools, professionals of all kinds, and the U.S. military use these performance descriptors and proficiency levels to determine a person's level of proficiency in a language. They are the ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) Performance Descriptors.

The proficiency outcomes rubric has abbreviated descriptors in each column for each mode. For much more detailed descriptors please refer to the link here: ACTFL Performance Descriptors.

Davis School District language students can track their progress on tracking forms similar to this one. At the end of each grading period for all courses in grades 7-12, the learners will receive a rating that relates to a level on the rubric.

This rating describes the level of language the learner is able to sustain consistently at least 80% of the time on skill based tasks.

Parents (and students) can track how well their child is doing at each grading period and what level of proficiency they must set as their goal in order to reach the next level and/or attain their desired grade at the end of the course. It is important to note that a beginning level of proficiency for each course is not the desired level for the end of the course.

Competency Assessment

World Language Credit for Demonstrated competency

Demonstrated Competency Assessment

Students proficient in one of the available foreign language can earn up to two years of world language credit through use of the STAMP Assessmentaccording to proficiency demonstrated.

State Board of Education rule R277-705-3C requires school districts to provide students with the opportunity to earn credit by demonstrating competency. The Demonstrated Competency Assessment for all world languages is the STAMP Assessment, a computer-based test that is taken on-line.

To sign up for the STAMP test, contact the Davis School District Test Center (801) 402-5385

More information can be found in the Demonstrated Competency Assessment.

Seal of Biliteracy

On December 4, 2015, the Utah State School Board established the Seal of Biliteracy.

Beginning with the graduating class of 2017, The Seal of Biliteracy will be awarded to any Utah student who is proficient in English and one or more World Languages or the Indigenes Languages of Navajo or Ute.

A “Seal of Biliteracy" means a seal placed electronically on a student's high school transcript that indicates a student has achieved in English, and in a world language, a proficiency level of Intermediate Mid as described by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).

Contact your high school counselor for more information, to submit your application, or to schedule a proficiency assessment.

Download the Seal Of Biliteracy Application Form

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Secondary World Languages

Home

DSD World Languages - Focus on Proficiency

Proficiency

What is Proficfiency and why does it matter?

Assessments and Testing

Competency Assessment

World Language Credit for Demonstrated competency

Seal of Biliteracy

Seal of Biliteracy