Across the country, the Seal of Biliteracy has become a visible marker of multilingual achievement.
What began as a grassroots effort in California is now implemented in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., with more than 158,000 seals awarded across 143 languages in the 2022-2023 school year, the most recent report.
At first glance, the goal seems straightforward: increase the number of students who graduate with the Seal.
But the schools and districts who have seen the most significant progress are the ones that approach the work differently and change the system that sits beneath it.
For them, the Seal of Biliteracyis not a senior-year recognition, but the outcome of a process that begins years earlier and is focused on building language pathways, expanding access, and removing barriers along the way.
This guide focuses on what actually drives that growth and how your school can do it, too.
Drawing on national and state implementation data, this guide focuses on the school-level conditions that make the Seal of Biliteracy growth possible.
Contents
Understanding the Seal of Biliteracy as a System
The Seal of Biliteracy, while technically awarded at graduation, functions as the endpoint of a longer instructional and organizational process.
It certifies that a student has reached a meaningful level of proficiency in English and at least one additional language, and it is typically recorded on a diploma, transcript, or certificate. It can be given by the school, school district, or state.
More importantly, it provides a clear target for schools. It defines what multilingual success looks like and signals that language development matters beyond compliance requirements.
States like Washington, Illinois and California are living proof that schools see stronger results when they treat the Seal as part of a broader multiliteracy strategy.
This includes building articulated pathways, aligning assessments, and supporting students across multiple years rather than focusing only on final-year eligibility.
What the Evidence Says About Biliteracy Pathways
The strongest research base supporting the Seal does not focus on the credential itself, but on the instructional pathways that lead to it.
Studies of dual-language immersion programs show measurable academic gains. For example, lottery data-based research has found improvements in reading equivalent to several months of additional learning, with no negative impact on math or science outcomes.
Social and identity-related benefits also come from this type of language integration, because when students’ home languages are valued and integrated into learning, they are more likely to feel a sense of belonging and participate actively in classroom instruction.
The Seal itself also carries practical value in certain contexts, as some states and institutions recognize it for college admissions, course placement, or credit.
For example, New Jersey’s 2024-25 annual report notes that the Seal can earn students college credit at William Paterson University, Rowan University, and other U.S. colleges and universities.”
What State Growth Data Reveals
States that have significantly increased Seal attainment share a consistent pattern: policy alone was not enough.
Growth accelerated when states paired policy with implementation supports such as clearer guidance, expanded assessment options, and stronger outreach.
For example:
- California increased from 10,685 recipients in 2011-12 to more than 64,000 in 2023-24
- Illinois expanded from 503 awards in 2014-15 to over 9,000 in 2023-24
- Washington went from 2,108 Seals in 2015-16 to 6,306 in 2023-24 across 89 languages
- New Jersey awarded 2,007 students in 2016-17 and jumped to 12,200 in 2024-25
Across these contexts, many operational shifts appeared repeatedly:
These states worked on expanding their dual-language pathways, strengthening the bilingual teacher pipelines, and training their staff to support multilingual learners. They also connected with multilingual families, recognized heritage and community-based language learning, and motivated partnerships between universities and schools.
A School-Level Playbook for Increasing Seal Attainment
As you can see, increasing the Seal of Biliteracy is a collaborative work between schools, districts, and the state government.
However, this doesn’t mean that schools cannot work on their own to strengthen their systems and make their students more likely to succeed in developing several languages as they grow.
Schools that successfully expand Seal participation tend to focus on a small set of high-impact strategies, such as:
1. Building a Candidate Pipeline Early
One of the most consistent findings across state guidance is the importance of early identification.
Rather than waiting until senior year, effective schools begin by reviewing available data across grade levels. This includes home-language surveys, English learner status, prior reclassification, and participation in language programs.
This process often reveals students who would otherwise be overlooked, including heritage speakers and former English learners.
Maintaining a living list of candidates allows schools to monitor progress and provide support well before graduation requirements become urgent.
When meeting with your data assessment team and your school leaders, ask:
- How early are we identifying potential Seal candidates in our system?
- Which students might already meet criteria but are not being tracked?
- Are we relying too heavily on senior-year identification?
And if you’re not sure on where to start, you can begin with a simple audit of existing data systems. Work with counselors, EL coordinators, and language department leads to create a shared tracking list.
Even a basic spreadsheet can become a powerful tool if updated consistently until you can create a more advanced system.
Recommended timeline: Ideally, start before the beginning of the school year or during the first month. You can make updates mid-year and then review again at the end.
2. Expand and Plan Assessment Access
Assessment access is one of the most practical barriers schools face. Even when students are ready, logistics can keep them from demonstrating proficiency.
High-performing systems plan testing early, offer multiple opportunities throughout the year, and ensure that students have access to assessments aligned with their language.
This includes recognizing that different languages require different solutions. While widely taught languages may have standardized tests, less commonly taught languages often require alternative or custom assessment pathways.
California, for example, offers dual-language options for English/Spanish and also supports other language pairings such as English/Mandarin, English/Vietnamese, English/Portuguese, and English/Korean..
We advise school leaders to go over their assessment process and ask how many opportunities do students currently have to demonstrate proficiency, which languages in our community are not well supported by existing assessments, and if cost, scheduling, or awareness are limiting participation.
You can start by mapping out your current assessment calendar and identify gaps. Consider adding an additional testing window or exploring alternative assessment options for less commonly taught languages.
Partnering with districts or state offices at this stage can help expand available options.
Recommended timeline: Make your calendar before the year starts and publish it. If you have recommendations or concerns, these should be getting addressed by the winter.
3. Create Multiple Pathways to Proficiency
Students develop multilingual proficiency through different experiences, not just traditional coursework.
Effective systems recognize this by validating a range of pathways, including dual-language programs, advanced coursework, community-based language learning, and competency-based credits.
Expanding pathways increases access for students who may not follow a conventional academic trajectory but still demonstrate high levels of language proficiency.
It is important to ask whether there are existing pathways for students to develop proficiency beyond world language courses and if heritage speakers and community-based learners are recognized in our system.
Recommended timeline: Take your time to design these plans during the first semester, so you can implement them in the following school year.
4. Prioritize Outreach and Equity
Another consistent pattern across state guidance is the importance of communication.
Schools that increase participation do not assume students and families are aware of the Seal. They actively provide information in multiple languages, explain its value, and connect it to college and career opportunities.
This outreach is particularly important for groups that are often underrepresented in Seal attainment, including heritage speakers, former English learners, and students outside traditional world language programs.
Ask the following questions:
- Who in our community knows about the Seal and who does not?
- Are we communicating in the languages our families use?
- Which student groups are underrepresented in our current data?
For this step, you can work with family engagement teams to develop clear, multilingual communication materials. Consider integrating Seal information into existing touchpoints such as course selection, family nights, and counseling sessions.
Recommended timeline: Launch during course selection and keep the consistent work across the school year.
5. Track Progress and Improve Continuously
Sustained growth requires visibility into the system.
Schools that track candidate progress, assessment completion, and final outcomes are better able to identify where students drop off and adjust accordingly through the years.
This includes monitoring data by subgroup and language to ensure that access is expanding equitably.
Without this level of tracking, schools may celebrate final outcomes without understanding how to improve them.
Ask:
- Where in the process are students most likely to fall off track?
- What patterns do we see across different student groups and languages?
- How often are we reviewing this data as a team?
To improve in this area, we advise you to set a regular cadence for reviewing Seal-related data, even if it is informal at first. Bring together key staff to look at trends and identify one or two adjustments to test each cycle.
Recommended timeline: Set goals before the school year starts, review quarterly and after graduation to update your data.
What This Looks Like in Practice
In states that have seen sustained growth, these strategies translate into clear system-level changes.
At the school level, this often results in earlier identification of students, more intentional planning for assessments, and broader participation across languages and student groups.
Instead of the Seal being limited to a small group of students in traditional language programs, it becomes accessible to a wider range of multilingual learners.
Recognition that Becomes Opportunity
Increasing the number of students who graduate with the Seal of Biliteracy requires a shift in how schools approach the work.
The most successful systems focus on the conditions that make the Seal of Biliteracy attainable: early identification, accessible pathways, aligned assessments, and consistent outreach.
This work unfolds over time.
Some strategies will show results quickly, while others require adjustment and refinement. Schools that make sustained progress are those that continue to learn from their data, test new approaches, and stay committed to expanding access.
The Seal of Biliteracy plays a larger role than recognition alone.
It can help schools and systems align around a shared vision of multilingualism, strengthen instructional pathways, and elevate the value of language diversity across communities.
When implemented intentionally, it becomes a lever for building more inclusive, coherent systems that recognize and develop the linguistic assets students bring.
For schools and districts, the opportunity goes beyond increasing numbers.
It is about creating conditions where multilingualism is visible, supported, and meaningfully integrated into the educational experience.
If you’d like to know more about how your school or district can increase Seal of Biliteracy graduates, reach out to Ensemble Learning and let’s explore opportunities together.
