ALIRA Information
For the last two years, EW has provided an exciting opportunity for our 8th graders to (potentially) earn high school credits for World Language. The state of Washington offers testing to earn World Language Competency-Based Credit, including Latin!
Washington uses a test called ALIRA, the ACTFL Latin Interpretive Reading Assessment, as a tool to assess Latin reading skills. We will be administering this test to our 8th graders on Monday morning, May 19th.
Depending on student performance on the test, they could bring up to 4 credits along with them to high school to help them fulfill graduation requirements. (For more detail, view the OSPI credit equivalency table.) Entering high school with some credits in place for the hard work they’ve already done in middle school gives students the potential for some flexibility in selecting courses over the next several years.
On Monday, May 12th, we will share more about the assessment with students, including walking them through some sample questions. It’s an online, multiple-choice, adaptive test, which means the questions will get easier or more difficult depending on the student’s performance. Students will have 1½ -2 minutes to read each statement or passage and answer a question about it. The test may take up to 50 minutes (again, depending on student performance). You can read more about the test here, and access a digital demo test here.
We will show students how they can eliminate wrong answers and zero in on correct answers just by recognizing key vocabulary words in a sentence or passage, even if some of the words are unfamiliar. We will also share with students resources for more practice with Latin vocabulary: Latin core vocabulary (Dickenson College) and Latin Flash Cards (from Study Stack).
We believe this is an exciting and low-stakes way for our students to try something new and advocate for themselves as they enter high school. Implications for Latin-based language credits vary by high school system–public vs private–and higher education admissions requirements. Please reach out to EW School Counselor Julie with any questions about this opportunity and supporting your student’s future plans.