Cali, Colombia – In an impressive testament to its commitment to linguistic excellence, Colegio Berchmans announced that 360 of its students and teachers have been distinguished with the Global Seal of Biliteracy, showcasing their proficiency in English alongside their native Spanish.
This significant achievement not only celebrates the linguistic talents of the recipients but also highlights the role of rigorous assessments in validating these skills on a global platform.
The Global Seal of Biliteracy serves as a benchmark of language proficiency across the globe, recognizing individuals who demonstrate fluency in two or more languages. It has three levels of awards: Functional, Working, and Professional fluencies. This award is more than just a mark of distinction; it represents the bridging of cultures, the fostering of global citizenship, and the opening of doors to myriad opportunities in education and the workforce.
Central to this remarkable achievement is assessment.
One of the tests used to award the seals is the Avant STAMP (Standards-based Measurement of Proficiency) assessment, a technologically innovative, computer-adaptive test that offers an accurate reflection of a test taker’s language skills.
Unlike traditional assessments, Avant STAMP adapts to each examinee’s responses, providing questions that challenge their proficiency across reading, writing, listening, and speaking. This dynamic approach ensures a more precisely and consistently attained assessment of language skills, setting a gold standard for linguistic evaluation.
By integrating such innovative methodologies, Colegio Berchmans not only enhances its educational offerings but also ensures that its students and teachers are evaluated against the highest standards of linguistic proficiency.
Eliana Herrera, Bilingual Education Coordinator at Colegio Berchmans, was key in implementing the assessment process and surprised their students with the seals last year. Their students were ecstatic to receive a tangible demonstration of their hard work. “Colegio Berchmans in Cali worked together with Avant Assessment and other international institutions to certify students’ language proficiency levels in different grades. For all our community, this was an opportunity to acknowledge the students’ bilingualism degree with the 360 Global Seal of Biliteracy diplomas earned last school year.”
Likewise, Luis Roberto Rivera, principal of Colegio Berchmans, highlighted this result on the school’s 90th anniversary. “As Colegio Berchmans celebrates its 90th year in education, it continues to nurture a community of global citizens fluent in multiple languages, the success of its students and teachers serves as an inspiration to educational institutions throughout Latin America”.
This achievement by Colegio Berchmans places it at the forefront of bilingual education in Colombia, exemplifying the critical role of precise and adaptive assessment tools in recognizing and promoting linguistic excellence.
About Colegio Berchmans:
Colegio Berchmans is a Jesuit school founded in 1933 in Cali, Colombia. Their educational model responds to the challenges of current times, with high-quality competitive standards at the local, national, and international levels.
Through a co-educational environment and personalized education, the training they offer students integrates the cognitive, technological, communicative, and bilingual challenges posed by today’s world, accompanied by solid training in values. Throughout their history, teachers, students, and families have built knowledge with human and academic excellence, growing alongside the city and contributing to its development.
For more information about Colegio Berchmans and its commitment to excellence in bilingual education, please visit https://berchmans.edu.co/.
About Avant Assessment:
Avant Assessment is dedicated to developing and delivering language proficiency solutions that improve the teaching and learning of languages. Education programs in primary and secondary schools, universities, businesses, government organizations, and individuals around the world use Avant’s assessments to award competency-based credits and credentials, analyze testing data to improve instructional outcomes, and identify areas for professional development to improve proficiency outcomes. Avant MORE Learning training and professional learning practice complements their assessments by providing training that supports programs that are striving to improve proficiency outcomes. For more than 20 years, Avant has delivered STAMP (STAndards-based Measurement of Proficiency), the world’s first online adaptive four-skill (Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking) language proficiency assessment, originally developed at the University of Oregon. Avant’s solutions are about real-world proficiency development, pairing innovative technologies with human expertise.
