Standards-Based Measurement of Proficiency (STAMP) is an online assessment system that tests reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills in a variety of languages. 

Tests are not timed but typically take about 2-3 hours. Test instructions are in English, students responses must be in the testing language.

Students can prepare for this assessment by reading the STAMP Test Taker Guide. If unsure about English reading skills, students can take the STAMP Sample Test for practice.

Available Languages

• Arabic
• French
• German
• Hebrew
• Hindi
• Italian
• Japanese
• Korean
• Mandarin (Simplified and Traditional)
• Polish
• Russian
• Spanish
• Armenian
• Filipino (Tagalog
• Haitian-Creole
• Ilocano
• Samoan
• Somali Maay
• Somali Maxaa
• Tamil
• Urdu
• Vietnamese
• Yup'ik

Writing Assessment

The ALTA Writing Assessment is a hand-written test with several “prompts” (or questions) for students to write about in connected paragraphs. Grammar mistakes are ok. The ALTA writing test is completed in 1 hour.

Listening Assessment

The ALTA Listening Assessment is an interview by telephone with a native speaker, which will be scheduled at your school after we receive writing scores. The listening test is scheduled for 30 minutes during the school day. 

Available Languages

• Albanian
• Amharic
• Azerbaijani
• Baluchi (Western)
• Bambara
• Bengali
• Bosnian
• Bulgarian
• Burmese
• Cambodian
• Cantonese (Traditional)
• Chuukese
• Croatian
• Czech Danish
• Dari Farsi
• Dutch
• Estonian
• Ewe
• Fante (Akan)
• Finnish
• Fulfulde (Fulani)
• Ga
• Greek (Modern)
• Gujarati
• Hausa
• Hmong-Mong
• Hungarian
• Ibo
• Indonesian
• Italian
• Jamaican Patois
• Kazakh
• Kurdish (Kurmandji)
• Kurdish (Sorani)
• Laotian
• Latvian
• Lithuanian
• Macedonian
• Malayalam
• Nepali
• Norwegian
• Oromo
• Pashto
• Persian Farsi
• Portuguese (Brazil)
• Portuguese (Portugal)
• Punjabi (Eastern)
• Punjabi (Western)
• Romanian
• Serbian
• Serbo-Croatian
• Sinhala
• Slovak
• Swahili
• Swedish
• Taiwanese (Traditional)
• Tajik
• Telegu
• Thai
• Tibetan
• Tigrinya
• Turkish
• Turkmen
• Twi (Akan)
• Ukranian
• Urdu
• Uzbek
• Wolof
• Yoruba

Languages not tested by the STAMP or ALTA assessments may be tested using WPT & Proctored Writing Test, AAPL OPI, and OPIc.

Writing Proficiency Test (WPT) & Proctored Writing Test

The WPT and Proctored Writing tasks are English prompts for which the student provides hand-written response in the target language. The responses are evaluated to determine whether they demonstrate proficiency at a sufficient level to recommend 1, 2, 3, or 4 credits (i.e. at least Novice Mid, at least Novice High, at least Intermediate Low, or at least Intermediate Mid) -- but not higher than that because the evaluators for these less commonly taught/tested languages have not been formally trained to provide a precise proficiency rating.

Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI)

The OPI is a structured phone conversation with a speaker of the target language.  The interaction is scored based on word usage and sentence structure.

Oral Proficiency Interview on the Computer (OPIc)

The OPIc is a computer-assisted oral assessment in which the student interacts orally with an avatar to have a conversation in the target language. The interaction is scored based on word usage and sentence structure.

Any student in grades 9-12 with strong skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening in a language other than English can earn credit. Students using American Sign Language (ASL) may also earn credit. Students need to complete an orientation and self-assessment of their skills before testing. 

You can earn 1-4 credits. 

Yes. 

Yes. English Language Learner (ELL) students are encouraged to take the test. However, we strongly recommend you take the test when you are at an intermediate or advanced level of English language skill – this is because the test instructions will all be in English, making the test challenging for a beginning ELL student. 

The first language test is free. If you choose to retest, there will be a fee based on the cost of the assessment. 

There is no negative posting on transcripts or other records. 

Yes. You can opt to retest, at your own cost. 

To register, you will attend an information orientation, complete a self-assessment, and take a practice test. This will happen across the high school campuses during the school day and be advertised at the school. 

During or after the orientation, you will complete a self-assessment that will help you identify your proficiency level. If your level is high enough, and you want to earn the credit, you are encouraged to take the test.

The test varies depending on language. Some tests are completed on the computer, some are paper/pencil, and some are a combination of both. All the tests also include a speaking and/or listening component, as well as reading and writing assessments. Practice assessments are available online: Arabic, French, German, Italian, Russian, Samoan, and Spanish. For other languages, you will learn about the assessment during the information orientation. 

In most cases, testing will happen at your home high school.