Brenda Arellano coordinates the work of our Southwest English Learners Research Partnership with the New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) and other partners. She was a co-principal investigator for the REL Southwest study discussed here. Dr. Arellano is a senior researcher at the American Institutes for Research (AIR).

The Biliteracy Seal is an award given by a school, district, or state to students who have studied and reached a level of proficiency in one or more languages other than English by high school graduation. The seal provides a way to encourage students to pursue a rigorous academic plan and demonstrate their skills to future employers and college admissions officers. Currently, 48 states and the District of Columbia offer biliteracy seals, and approximately 91,000 seals were earned nationwide in 2018.

The New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) adopted a State Seal of Bilingualism-Biliteracy ("state seal") program in 2014 and began awarding seals in 2015/16. Since 2015/16, more than 3,300 New Mexico high school graduates have earned biliteracy seals. REL Southwest conducted a recent study in partnership with an urban district in New Mexico that uses a unique approach to awarding seals, granting both state seals and district seals. Prior to this study, biliteracy seal research focused mainly on qualitative studies examining student and administrator perceptions about the benefits of seals, but more rigorous studies have been lacking. This REL Southwest study offers a quantitative examination of biliteracy seals and the benefits of seals linked to student outcomes.

Examining biliteracy seal programs in an urban district

To make decisions about whether and how to expand the biliteracy seal program, this district's leaders and NMPED wanted to know the characteristics and college readiness of students who earn different types of biliteracy seals and whether earning a seal resulted in improved college outcomes. In addition, they wanted to know how many students met some requirements for a seal but did not earn one.

The district in this study serves a diverse student population and provides several options for students interested in earning biliteracy seals. In addition to the state seal, students who attend dual language schools in the district can earn a Spanish Bilingual Seal ("district seal") or a Spanish Bilingual Seal of Distinction ("district seal of distinction"). As of 2019/20, students attending any high school in the district can also earn a Global Seal of Biliteracy ("global seal") (see box for more information). The study used data from three cohorts of grade 12 students in 2017/18-2019/20 in the district.

Key findings

• Seven percent of graduates from 2017/18 to 2019/20 earned a biliteracy seal. Graduates who earned any type of biliteracy seal were more likely than graduates who did not to be Hispanic (92 versus 63 percent), to be eligible for the National School Lunch Program (83 versus 49 percent), to have ever been an English learner student (76 versus 24 percent), and to speak Spanish at home (80 versus 17 percent).
• Earning a biliteracy seal appears to benefit graduates with respect to college enrollment, but there is no additional benefit of earning a district seal compared to a state seal. After adjusting for demographic characteristics, high school attended, and college readiness, 85 percent of graduates who earned a biliteracy seal enrolled in college within one year of high school graduation, compared with 72 percent of graduates who did not earn a seal. The difference in college enrollment between graduates who earned a district seal and similar graduates who earned a state seal was not statistically significant.
• Among graduates who attended the same high school and enrolled in college, graduates who earned a biliteracy seal were more likely than similar graduates who did not earn a seal to enroll in a four-year college and to enroll full time. After adjusting for the demographic characteristics and college readiness of graduates, 61 percent of graduates who earned a biliteracy seal and enrolled in college within one year of high school graduation enrolled in a four-year college, compared with 54 percent of graduates who did not earn a state seal. In addition, 84 percent of graduates who earned a biliteracy seal and enrolled in college within one year of graduation enrolled full time, compared with 68 percent of those who did not earn a seal, after adjusting for prior differences.
• There are opportunities for the district to improve how students are awarded seals, since some graduates met the requirements but did not earn the state seal (figure 1). The most common reason graduates did not earn a state seal after taking at least two credits in a non-English language was because they did not take sufficient non-English language credits. A total of 1,697 graduates who took at least two credits in a non-English language but did not earn a state seal took fewer than four credits in a non-English language; 151 graduates completed four credits in a non-English language but did not earn the grade needed in each credit; 558 graduates completed four credits in a non-English language, earned at least a C in each credit, but assessment scores were unavailable; and 189 students completed the four credits in a non-English language, earned at least a C in each credit, and met the threshold for the non-English language assessment.¹

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Note: The study was only able to obtain scores for two eligible assessments—the non-English language Advanced Placement test and the Standards-based Measurement of Proficiency assessment. Of the 747 students who took four language credits and earned at least a C in each credit, 222 took one of these two eligible assessments.
Source: Authors' analysis of data provided by an urban school district in New Mexico.

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Figure 1: There are opportunities for the district to improve how students are awarded seals, since some graduates met the requirements but did not earn the state seal

How can state and district leaders use the study findings?

Study findings suggest that expanding access to the state seal could potentially lead to improvements in college outcomes for more New Mexico students.² Some approaches the urban district could take to increase the number of seals awarded include more widely publicizing the seal's potential benefits and considering revisions to their policies for earning a state seal. Another approach to consider is developing an automated process for identifying students who are on the path to earning a seal, helping ensure that seals are being awarded to all eligible graduates. An automated process would also reduce the burden on district and school staff in New Mexico—and indeed in other states offering biliteracy seals.

For more information on New Mexico's Biliteracy Seals and the work of the Southwest English Learners Research Partnership:

From the New Mexico Public Education Department:

• Website: State Seal of Bilingualism-Biliteracy

From REL Southwest:

• Webinar: Implementing Biliteracy Seals to Strengthen Bilingual Education and Support Cultural Awareness
• Focus group project: Coaching to Support a Focus Group Study of Biliteracy Seal Implementation
• Blog post: Teaming up to Support New Mexico's Seal of Bilingualism-Biliteracy
• Infographic: Recognizing Bilingual Knowledge Through Biliteracy Seals
• Video: Walking in Both Worlds: Native American Students and Language Acquisition
• Research study: English Language Development Among American Indian English Learner Students in New Mexico