What proficiency levels do K-16 world language learners achieve?

Introduction

World language education in the United States is threatened by ever-changing policies related to college entry and graduation requirements, governmental priorities, and public perceptions of multilingualism. Language programs and educators can demonstrate their achievements and the importance of sustained language learning by reporting the level of language proficiency (i.e., functional, real-world language abilities) students reach at different levels of education. In this research brief, we summarize the available research on language proficiency attainment at the elementary and secondary school and university levels. We hope to provide an overview of the field, questions that still remain, and ways to help advocate for language programs to support multilingual and intercultural development in the U.S.

What levels of proficiency do students reach?

Language proficiency in the U.S is generally measured using standardized proficiency tests, most often the the ACTFL Assessment of Performance towards Proficiency in Language (AAPPL), or the ACTFL suite of speaking (OPI and OPIc), reading (RPT), listening (LPT), and writing (WPT) assessments or Avant’s STAndard Measure of Proficiency (STAMP).

From elementary school to secondary school

Many studies about elementary-level programs have examined immersion programs, where students learn academic content through the language, and spend a large percentage of their day immersed in language usage. Xu et al. (2015) examined Mandarin Chinese proficiency in elementary Mandarin immersion programs. For students in grades 4-5, median scores were reported at the Intermediate level for reading, writing, and speaking. Similarly, Burkhauser et al.’s (2016) study of dual-language immersion students in Portland Public Schools found that by grade 8, students in Spanish, Japanese, and Mandarin programs performed at Intermediate-Low or higher*. In comparison, students who began taking Spanish as one subject in an English-medium school reached an average of Novice-Mid proficiency by grade 8. Watzinger-Tharp et al. (2018)* conducted a cross-sectional study of students in grades 3-8 across multiple languages (Chinese, French, Spanish) in dual language immersion (DLI) programs. By the end of elementary school, students generally scored in the Intermediate-Low to Intermediate-Mid range across skills. In grades 7-8, average proficiency was at the Intermediate-Mid to High levels.

Although elementary school world language proficiency data has been primarily limited to immersion programs, more studies have examined secondary school contexts. Several examined high school foreign language programs’ proficiency attainment across 4 years of high school study: Glisan and Foltz (1998) found Spanish learners’ speaking scores increasing from Novice-Mid to Novice High from year 1 to 3, with about 70% of the students reaching Intermediate-Low or higher in year 4. Similarly, Xu et al. (2015) found that high school students at levels 4/5/AP reached Intermediate-Low for reading, Intermediate Mid for writing, and Intermediate High for speaking. Although Moeller and Theiler’s (2014) study largely confirmed this consistent increase over time, they also found that the average speaking proficiency after 4 years of Spanish was Novice-High, below the ACTFL expectation of Intermediate-Low. Davin et al. (2014)*, with a study of 3,881 students of multiple languages with a focus on Chinese, French, and Spanish, found speaking proficiency after 2 years averaged between Novice-Mid and Novice-High. After 3-4 years, the median speaking score reached Intermediate-Low (and for Chinese Intermediate-Mid after 5 years). After four years, the writing scores reached Intermediate-Low. However, for reading proficiency, only students of French reached a median reading score of Intermediate-Low after four years of study (Spanish and Chinese never reached the Intermediate level in reading proficiency). Sparks et al. (2017) found that high school Spanish students’ writing proficiency reached Novice-High or Intermediate-Low after 3 years.

In summary, secondary school language learners have been shown to reach proficiency levels from Novice-High to Intermediate-Mid after multiple years of study, with individual variation within these results.

University

University language learning requirements vary widely across institutions, as do curricula across languages. Table 1 presents an overview of university level proficiency achievement: from “lower-division” courses (typically the first four semesters of available language classes starting at “101”) to “upper-division” courses (courses typically taken after minimum language credit requirements have been met, often by students majoring or minoring in the language, though not always). Few data are available about writing proficiency attainment in universities, as the largest datasets (e.g., that of The Language Flagship, Winke et al., 2020*) did not include writing assessments.

Table 1. Overview of proficiency attainment in lower- and upper-division language courses at U.S. universities

LPT = Listening Proficiency Test; RPT = Reading Proficiency Test; OPI(c) = Oral Proficiency Interview (by Computer); NM = Novice-Mid, IL = Intermediate-Low, IM = Intermediate-Mid, AL = Advanced-Low, AM = Advanced-Mid

As Table 1 shows, in lower-division courses, studies have shown that students achieve similarly to end-of-high school levels for Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish, with oral proficiency for example ranging from Novice-Mid at the end of two semesters to Intermediate Low by the end of four semesters (Zhang et al., 2020). For upper-division language learning, studies demonstrate achievement in the Intermediate-High to Advanced range of proficiency after 4 years of college study, though this attainment varies based on a number of factors (see notes column in Table 1 and discussion in the next section).

What factors influence proficiency attainment?

Differences in proficiency attainment are difficult to attribute to one single factor across individuals. However, a few important factors recurrently appear in the research: language exposure, motivation, and type of instruction. Students with more language exposure attain higher levels of proficiency, for instance, if they are heritage learners of their target language and if they have extended exposure to the target language outside of class (e.g., in work/community settings, during study abroad). Students who self-report higher motivation often demonstrate higher proficiency on language assessments (Gass et al., 2019). Type of instruction is also a factor. Moeller and Theiler’s study (2014) found in a high school context that teachers accounted for 18 to 30% of the variance in students’ speaking scores. Indeed, Hancock et al. (2023) found higher oral proficiency (Intermediate-Mid) for high school students with teachers who use proficiency-based approaches compared to teachers who focused mostly on explicit grammar (avg. Novice-High to Intermediate-Low). Interestingly, the general picture that emerges from the variety of languages in the research summarized here is that, on average, language development is roughly equal across languages. Although different languages present different challenges, proficiency attainment is fairly similar by the end of high school or college learning.

Concluding Thoughts

For now, the body of research on which levels of proficiency are attained across the educational trajectory is still limited. In this summary, we report findings from a few school districts, a few individual high schools, and a handful of universities. It is not clear whether these findings represent what is typical for all schools and universities. We need many more studies. Importantly, there are many languages, especially less commonly taught languages (LCTLs), which are not represented in any study summarized here.

Proficiency testing can be beneficial to language programs and students for several reasons, including establishing reasonable benchmarks and measuring individual goals, prompting colleague, program, and district (re)alignment, and demonstrating the value of continued language learning to all stakeholders. However, proficiency testing may not always capture the depth and breadth of student attainment or development in world language classes and programs. Proficiency testing is one consistent way to show student outcomes and teacher efforts. To better understand what is reasonable and possible for language programs, our field would benefit from additional researcher-educator partnerships and a larger and more precise set of data in diverse contexts from which to draw conclusions. Only with information-rich assessments and data literacy can we know where we as a field are and how we might continue to develop to better meet the language needs of our students, our country, and our world.