GHS students receive Seal of Biliteracy

On Thursday, April 6th, students from GHS engaged in a test to determine if they are literate in their chosen language, the Massachusetts Seal of Biliteracy Exam. Recently, the results came back. Students who passed will receive the State Seal of Biliteracy, and get an additional sash when they graduate.

“I’m a big believer in learning languages so I highly encourage those who are interested in taking it to do so,” Aurelia Harrison, a junior who passed in Spanish, said. “Your progress in learning language is subjective, so it’s nice to have a tangible benchmark for where you’re at.”

The test consists of 4 different sections, reading, writing, speaking, and listening, to test the student’s proficiency in the language, as each of those categories is crucial to being able to fully understand the language. Scores are based on a 9-point scale, with 1-3 points being novice, 4-6 points being intermediate, and 7-10 points being advanced.

“It’s important for me to have this Seal of Biliteracy because it shows where I came from,” Sheila Medrano, a senior who passed in Spanish, said. “Living in Gloucester and going to GHS does not erase my heritage, and this was a way to prove that to myself.”

Students who received the Seal include Peter Giordano, Eliana Cracchiolo, Ana Santa, Aurelia Harrison, Deston Cauthers, Kayky Barbosa, Marisa Vincent, Maximilian Litman, Michael Merchant, Sasha Angeles-Tejada, Vanessa Torres, Yordin Lorenzo-Vasquez, and Sheila Medrano.