THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
OFFICE OF ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE, SECONDARY AND CONTINUING
EDUCATION
ALBANY, NY 12234
Definitions
SLP - Second Language Proficiency exam
Unit - At least 180 minutes of study of instruction per week through the school
year or the equivalent
Unit of Credit in LOTE - is earned by:
a. Demonstrated mastery of learning outcomes for a given
high school subject after a student has had the opportunity to complete a unit
of study, or
b. Earning credit by examination or documented school attendance
in an other than English speaking environment.
Checkpoint A - first level of student proficiency in NYS
Assessment for Checkpoint A: SLP
Checkpoint B- second level of proficiency, in NYS
Assessment for Checkpoint B: Comprehensive
Regents Exam
Credit by examination - earn credit without LOTE class units.
Regents Diploma - requires 1 credit of LOTE
Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation - requires 3 LOTE credit + exam.
* Note: Words and sentences highlighted in blue are links that lead to further
information. (Regulations/ Assessments)
1. Which students are required to meet the LOTE (Language Other Than English)
graduation requirements?
All students must meet the requirement in LOTE
except those who have an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) that identifies
a disability that "….adversely affects the child's ability to learn a LOTE"
2. How does a student with an IEP exemption LOTE still earn a Regent diploma?
The one credit of LOTE must be replaced by another
high school level credit.
3. What is the LOTE requirement for the Regents diploma?
Students must complete two units of study of
Checkpoint A LOTE and must earn one high school credit by the end of ninth grade.
The Checkpoint A graduation requirement credit
can be earned by:
• Completing any combination of 2 units in grades K-8: Pass the SLP (minimum
score of 65 on SLP).
• Grades 7&8: Pass the SLP (minimum score of 65)
• Grade 8 (One year accelerated program) Pass the course and Pass the
SLP (minimum score of 65 on SLP and earn a minimum score of 65 in the course)
• Grades 8 & 9: Pass the course or the pass SLP (must earn a minimum
score of 65 on SLP, or the grade nine course)
4. When must study in LOTE be made available to students?
LOTE must be provided to students no later than
grade eight.
5. Will any course in LOTE meet the one unit of credit requirement?
No. the course must be a Checkpoint A level course.
It must be a high school level course that follows the New York State syllabi:
Modern Languages for communication, Modern American Sign Language for communication,
or Latin for Communication
6. Must all students pass the SLP exam in order to earn the one high-school
credit?
No. A student who completes Checkpoint A in grade
eight or below must take and pass the SLP in order to earn the High School credit.
A grade nine student must pass either the SLP or the grade nine LOTE course
to earn the credit.
7. What happens if the student fails the course and the SLP by the end of grade
eight?
The student is required to complete a Level 1/Checkpoint
A course and earn the one high school credit. This should be a Level 1 course
in the high school. The student would then need to either pass the Level One
LOTE course or the SLP at the completion of the class in order to earn the credit.
The student could:
• Take the Level I/Checkpoint
A course in grade nine and pass the course or the SLP. (earn a 65 or higher)
OR
• Repeat the grade 8
portion of the two-year Checkpoint A course and pass the SLP. (earn a 65 or
higher on the course and SLP)
8. May the student be advanced to Level 2 LOTE ( first half of Checkpoint B)
even if they have not earned credit for Level 1 (Checkpoint A)?
Yes. The student may advance to Level 2 with
teacher recommendation. Upon passing Level 2, the student will have earned 1
high school credit for the Level 2 course. It may be recommended by the school
district that the student then take the Second Language Proficiency examination,
in addition to the Level 2 final exam, in order to 'buy back' the level 1 credit
*A student may change languages but, this is not advisable since the student
might suffer academically crossing from one language to another. The two year
sequence is advised so the student has the classroom time necessary to reach
the Checkpoint A Level of Proficiency and pass the SLP.
9. Must the students pass the SLP and the course, for those who complete Checkpoint
A in grade eight or below, in order to earn the high school credit?
Yes, if the student is in a one-year accelerated
Checkpoint A program (traditionally in grade eight), he/she must take and pass
the SLP plus pass the course in order to earn this credit.
Accelerated classes are defined as;
• a class in a high school with high school
students and pass the course on the same basis as the high school students;
or
• a course in the middle, junior high or
intermediate school which follows the same curriculum as the high school course,
and has been approved for high school credit by the public school superintendent.
10. Will high school students be allowed to earn credit by examination with the SLP or the Regents exam?
Yes, if a student and district meet the following requirements:
Credit by examination
The student must:
• have administrative approval (approval of superintendent or chief administrator) AND
• have an oral exam or special project; the project should reflect the skills developed in a LOTE class; reading, writing speaking and listening AND
• score an 85 on the examination
11. How much credit will be earned if the student successfully earns credit by examination with the SLP?
The student will earn one LOTE credit.
12. How much credit will be earned if the student successfully earns credit by examination with the LOTE Comprehensive Regents?
The student will earn three LOTE credits
13. Can a student take both exams and earn four credits?
No, the LOTE Comprehensive Regents exam is cumulative. The SLP credit is already included in the credits earned with the Comprehensive Regents exam
14. If the student does not earn the high school credit by the end of grade nine, is that student now exempt from fulfilling this requirement?
No, the student is not exempted from the requirement. The student must still continue to take and pass a high school Level One course in order to earn the required credit for graduation or pass the SLP.
15. Can the school substitute a locally developed exam in lieu of the SLP when completing Checkpoint A in grades eight or below?
No, when there is an existing exam, the school must use the SLP.
16. Can the school substitute a locally developed exam in lieu of the LOTE Comprehensive Regents exam when completing Checkpoint B?
No, when there is an existing exam, the school must use the LOTE Comprehensive Regents exam.
17. What assessment does a school use in cases where the State Education Department does not offer the Proficiency exam in a LOTE in a particular language?
The school, with administrative approval, may use a locally developed examination that supports the format and content of Checkpoint A.
18. What assessment does a school use in cases where the State Education Department does not offer the LOTE Comprehensive Regents exam in a particular language?
Any languages not listed under Comprehensive Regents Exams are to use, with administrative approval, a locally developed examination that reflects the format and content of Checkpoint B. The locally produced exam is used to ensure that the format and content of Checkpoint B was used in the course.
19. After passing the SLP in grade eight, what course is the student prepared to take?
Once the student has earned the credit for Level One LOTE, by passing the SLP examination, the student may advance to Level Two in that language
20. Can seat time be reduced for those students who need AIS (Academic Intervention Services) yet are not exempted by an IEP (Individual Educational Program)?
Yes, those students requiring academic intervention
services may have two units of seat time reduced to one unit of seat time. However,
this does not mean that the student is exempted from fulfilling the graduation
LOTE requirement, and the LOTE must begin by grade eight. This option is only
available to middle school students
21. Are those students who have been identified by Career and Technical education, or the Arts exempted from the one unit of high school credit in LOTE?
No. All students must complete this requirement for the Regents diploma, unless the IEP clearly indicates an exemption in LOTE.
22. Is a LOTE required for those students pursuing the Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation?
Yes, students must successfully complete Checkpoint B and take and pass a LOTE Comprehensive Regents examination unless they opt for the five-unit sequence in either Career and Technical education or the Arts.
23. Where does one place a transfer student, in grade eight, with no LOTE experience, into a NYS LOTE program?
The student should take the grade eight second half of Checkpoint A. Passing the SLP would give the student the one unit of high school credit.
24. What are the provisions for high school transfer students who enter above grade eight from out-of state without a LOTE credit?
Students who transfer into the New York State public school system are required to meet the one unit LOTE requirement. At the high school level, it can be fulfilled by passing a Level One/Checkpoint A course in LOTE or passing the SLP.
25. Is summer school a possibility for meeting LOTE requirements for transfer students without LOTE?
No, a summer school option is only appropriate under the following two conditions:
• Student has completed the two units of study requirement: and
• the student has failed the SLP or the high school course.
The summer school program would be a high school Level One program. The student would need to pass this course in order to earn the high school credit. The summer program is only available to high school students who have completed grade nine.
26. Can a student who has successfully completed the three units of study in LOTE substitute another exam in lieu of a Regents exam?
Yes, the student may use an approved SAT II test
Approved SAT II TEST |
MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE SCORE |
| SAT II French Listening and French Reading |
500/500 |
| SAT II German Listening and German Reading |
470/470 |
| SAT II Modern Hebrew |
490 |
| SAT II Italian |
450 |
| SAT II Latin |
470 |
| SAT II Spanish Listening and Spanish Reading |
460/460 |
Special Situations
1. Credit for participation in bilingual education programs.
Students may be awarded one unit of credit in a LOTE for each year of successful participation in bilingual education, Native Language Arts, or Heritage Language in grades 8-12. (no more than 5 credits total)
2. Can credit be awarded for residence in a bilingual household?
No. No credit can be awarded for residence in a bilingual home within an English speaking environment because the amount of foreign language learning which occurs in such situations cannot be predicted adequately.
When appropriate, these students could be placed in a Heritage-language class or Native Language Arts class to earn LOTE credit
3. Can students who reside or attend school in an other-than-English-speaking -environment earns Regents credit?
Yes, schools may award three to five Regents credits for documented school attendance and residence in an other-than-English-speaking-environment, provided that the experience occurs age 11 or older and that the residence resulted in direct contact with that environment and its people. At age 12, the school may award four credits under the above conditions, and at 13, the school may award the maximum of five Regents credits. No more than five units of credit of LOTE may be awarded for school attendance and residence in an other-than-English-speaking- environment, regardless of the length of the experience.
Examples
A. A student is a native speaker of Spanish by virtue of documented school attendance and residence in Puerto Rico through age 13. This student may be awarded the maximum of 5 units of Regents credit in Spanish without necessarily having to pass the Regents Comprehensive examination.
B. A Vietnamese student enters a New York State public school. The available evidence (attained through school records, personal interviews, etc.) indicates that the student attended Vietnamese schools for a total of four years through age 11, and entered New York State schools at that time. It was also ascertained that all of the education was rendered in Vietnamese. This student is eligible to receive a maximum of 3 units of Regents credit in Vietnamese for attending school at the age of 11 in Viet Nam. No credit is allowed for the education experience below age 11.
C. An American high school student has attended one school year in Sweden as an exchange student. The student attended a Swedish school and received instruction in Swedish. The student lived with a Swedish family and had extensive contact with the Swedish environment. On the basis of this experience, this student may be awarded three units of Regents credit in Swedish.
PUBLICATIONS:
• Learning Standards for Languages Other Than English
• Modern Languages for Communication New York State Syllabus
• Languages Other Than English Checkpoint A Resource Guide
• Languages Other Than English Checkpoint C Resource Guide
• Latin for Communication New York State Syllabus
• LOTE Latin for the 21st Century Resource Guide for Core Curriculum
• American Sign Language for Communication New York State Teacher's Guide
Hard copies for a fee, are available at State Education Dept. EB 309, Albany NY 12234
ASSESSMENTS;
Second Language Proficiency Exams
(only offered in June)
|
Comprehensive Regents Exams |
French |
French (offered in January and June) |
| German |
German (offered in June) |
| Italian |
Hebrew (offered in June) |
| Latin |
Italian (offered in June) |
| Spanish |
Latin (offered in June) |
| |
Spanish (offered in January and June) |