Assessment of Performance

  • General Explanation

    Students take the ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages test (AAPPL) when they are in the 2nd, 5th and 8th grade. In some circumstances, the AAPPL may also be used as an entry assessment for students who wish to join dual language/immersion programs at the middle school level (there are separate entry assessments that we recommend for elementary grade levels). The AAPPL test measures Spanish language proficiency in the following areas:

    • Interpersonal Listening/Speaking (ILS) (Comunicación Interpersonal)*
    • Presentational Writing (PW) (Habilidad Escrita para Presentaciones)
    • Interpretive Reading (IR) (Lectura Interpretativa)
    • Interpretive Listening (IL) (Escucha Interpretativa)

    (Please note that in the first parenthesis, you can see the abbreviation of the skill in English, and in the second parenthesis is the translation of the skill in Spanish).

    *The ILS component is the only component tested in 2nd grade. 5th and 8th graders take all four test components.

    These skills are broken down into 3 modes of communication: Interpersonal, Presentational, and Interpretive. The following table distinguishes between these three modes:

    components of AAPPL assessment

  • Levels of Language Proficiency

    Each of the 4 skills assessed on the AAPPL test (Interpersonal Listening/Speaking, Presentational Writing, Interpretive Reading, Interpretive Listening) are rated according to the ACTFL Performance Descriptors for Language Learners on a scale that consists of 3 distinguished levels: Novice, Intermediate, Advanced.

    Students receive a unique score for each component they complete (so, a student could receive a different score for the Interpretive Listening skill vs. the Presentational Writing skill).

    Scores for the AAPPL are based on the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, which “are a description of what individuals can do with language in terms of speaking, writing, listening, and reading in real-world situations in a spontaneous and non-rehearsed context.”

    Learn more about the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines.

  • Proficiency Expectations

    The desired proficiency benchmark for the end of 5th grade is Intermediate low-mid in the 4 skills. The proficiency benchmark for the end of 8th grade is intermediate mid-high in the 4 skills.

    The Conexiones curriculum used in grades (7 and 8) provides differentiated activities across all levels of language proficiency. It is expected that students demonstrate the following level in each skill by each grade level:

    • Grade 6: Intermediate low-mid
    • Grade 7: Intermediate mid-high
    • Grade 8: Intermediate high-Advanced low

    ACTFL proficiency ranking