This year, the number of people who passed the Seal of Biliteracy test through West Albany High School went from only 13 people in 2024 to 23 this year. This jump can be attributed to many different factors; however, the greatest factor in raising the number of people passing can be attributed to the Spanish department and Spanish teacher Mrs. Mehl. 

     Two seniors attributed their passing to the teacher. Senior Aidan Richards, when asked about why he took the Seal of Biliteracy test, said “It was mainly [because of] Mrs Mehl.” Senior Danielle Barron Arreola also said, ”[Mrs. Mehl] was able to help me prepare for it and take the classes I needed.”

     The support that Mehl and the entire Spanish department created introduced more people to the Seal of Biliteracy and has led to a jump in people passing. Mehl said, “Part of our problem early on with the Seal of Biliteracy was just getting the information out there.” The department has been talking about spreading the word to more and more students, but it hasn’t only been the teachers pushing the test to more ears, according to Mehl. “Word of mouth helps too,” said Mehl. The increase in people aware of the test not only helps those who are considered traditional learners, students whose only interaction with Spanish is high school classes, but it also brings in heritage speakers who might not have known about the test otherwise. 

     This is where the increase is coming from. Mehl said, “The heritage speakers are the bigger increase.” She can find these students before their senior year, and she tests them before their Senior year, and because of this, there has been an increase in people just taking the exam in general.

     However, it is called the Seal of Biliteracy, and there must be proof that one can speak and write English as well as Spanish. The writing portion of the test usually comes from SBAC students’ junior year; however, it can be replaced with the SAT, the ACT, ort he ELPA. Mehl advises that “If you are considering taking the seal of Biliteracy, your senior year, make sure that… you’re doing your very best on state testing.” Aside from the writing and reading portion coming from these standardized tests, one must take a speaking test with Mehl. For many, it is just a formality, but it is necessary to see if one can get the Seal of Biliteracy. 

     Another interesting thing is that the test is changing this year. The main change was to the speaking section, with students being able to stop and think about what they want to say during the speaking portion. Mehl said, “The setup of the speaking portion of the test is a little less anxiety-inducing.” In the old test, the student only had one try to say what they wanted to, and they couldn’t think about the question first. This is different from the new test, as students are able to retry it one time and are able to think about the question first.

     Thanks to the efforts of the Spanish department, there has been a big increase in the number of students who have passed the Seal of Biliteracy this year, and do to all of the changes and how word will spread even farther, there could be even more next year.